Research

Research Priorities: Oral and maxillofacial surgery, cleft lips and palates, facial plastic surgery, dental implants, 3D imaging, biodegradable materials for facial surgery

Piet Haers is an oral and maxillofacial surgeon. He is a cleft lip and palate specialist. Further priorities include facial plastic surgery and dental implants. For this he is developing imaging techniques and biodegradable materials.

Cleft lips and palates are the most common facial birth defects. The mouth does not develop normally during pregnancy and defects form in several tissues such as bones, muscles or skin. Piet Haers is a specialist in this medical condition, referred to as cleft lip and palate.

In the case of this defect, the main objective is firstly to ensure that newborns can breathe, drink and swallow freely. In further treatment the oral and maxillofacial areas need to be restored, so that the children with this defect suffer as little as possible. Facial plastic surgery is also used for this. One of the challenges of surgery is the way the face grows. Its growth can be disrupted by incorrect or premature treatments. Piet Haers also performs surgery on adults with cleft lips and palates and is a specialist in restructuring jawbones with the use of implants.

Other areas of Piet Eduard J.J. Haers' work include 3D-imaging and the use of biodegradable materials in oral and maxillofacial surgery.

Career

• Clinical Director, South Thames Cleft-Teams, Guy's Hospital, London, UK
• Oral and maxillofacial surgeon, Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford, UK
• Visiting Professor, University of Surrey, Surrey, UK
• 2014 Visiting Professor, School of Medicine University of Surrey, Surrey, UK
• since 2005 Faculty Member, Diploma Course, Faculty of General Dental Practice (FGDP), Royal College of Surgeons, London, UK
• 2000 Habilitation
• 1998 PhD in Dentistry, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
• 2000-2001 Associate Professor, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
• 1993-2000 Assistant Professor, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
• 1993-1999 Senior Physician, Department of Craniofacial Surgery (now: Department of Cranio-Maxillo-Facial and Oral Surgery), University Hospital of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
• 1992 PhD in Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
• 1989-1999 Department of Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery (now: Department of Cranio-Maxillo-Facial and Oral Surgery), University Hospital of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
• 1988-1989 Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Rijnstate Hospital, Arnhem, The Netherlands
• 1985-1988 Trained in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Monziekten en Kaakchirurgie, St. Jan Hospital, Bruges, Belgium
• 1975-1985 Degree in Medicine and Dentistry, Catholic University of Leuven (KU), Leuven, Belgium

Functions

• 2014-2015 President, International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (IAOMS)
• 2012 Member, Clinical Reference Group for Cleft Lip and Palate, National Health Service (NHS), UK
• since 2000 Member, British Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons (BAOMS), UK
• since 1999 Member, British Dental Association (BDA), UK
• since 1999 Member, British Medical Association (BMA), UK
• 1999-2011 Editor in Chief, International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
• since 1993 Member, International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (IAOMS)
• since 1992 Member, European Association of Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery

Honours and Memberships

• 2006 President´s Prize, British Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons (BAOMS), UK
• since 2004 Member, German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, Germany
• since 2002 Fellow, International College of Dentists