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Vol. 10, Issue 9

Volume 10, Issue 9

Pages 1-7

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EDITORIAL
MEETING

A Recap of the Inaugural 2026 Manhattan Meeting: Contemporary Approaches to Aesthetic Face and Jaw Surgery

Ievgen I. Fesenkoa more
a Ievgen I. Fesenko

Managing Editor, Kyiv, Ukraine. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8901-1632 Correspondence: Editorial office, Journal of Diagnostics and Treatment of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology. 13-A Simferopolska Street, Kyiv 02096, Ukraine. E-mail: y.fesenko@kmu.edu.ua

Manuscript received 18 September 2026

Accepted 19 September 2026

Available online 21 September 2026

J Diagn Treat Oral Maxillofac Pathol 2026;9: 100325

DOI: https://doi.org/10.23999/j.dtomp.2026.9.100325

Under a Creative Commons license

HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE

Fesenko II. A recap of the inaugural 2026 Manhattan Meeting: Contemporary Approaches to Aesthetic Face and Jaw Surgery. J Diagn Treat Oral Maxillofac Pathol. 2026;10(9):100325.

 

KEY WORDS

Meeting, face, jaws, maxillofacial surgery, facial transplantation, article processing charge

ABSTRACT

History is written by people. And the history of surgical specialties is written by people who passionately love their specialty. One manifestation of such love and passion is organizing meetings for colleagues. The inaugural Manhattan Meeting, titled “Contemporary Approaches to Aesthetic Face and Jaw Surgery,” was just such a Symposium. Hosted by Hanna Face and Jaw on June 26–27, 2026, at the Park Lane New York, this exclusive event fostered face-to-face academic dialogue between global faculty and international clinicians. Finally, the editorial details the meeting's core topics, participant demographics, and sponsors, alongside a comparative analysis of Article Processing Charges (APCs) and overall event participation costs.

 

Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life.

—Amy Poehler

USA actress, comedian, and podcaster

 

The landscape of maxillofacial and facial plastic surgery is experiencing a profound paradigm shift—one where the historic boundaries between hard-tissue reconstruction and soft-tissue aesthetics have completely dissolved. This evolution was on full display at The Manhattan Meeting 2026, titled “Contemporary Approaches to Aesthetic Face and Jaw Surgery” (Fig 1). Hosted by Hanna Face and Jaw from June 26–27, 2026, at the Park Lane New York overlooking Central Park, this premier, highly exclusive symposium gathered an elite group of international clinicians to explore how coordinated bony and soft-tissue interventions produce unparalleled, durable surgical results. Due to venue configurations inside the historic hotel, the event strictly maintained a intimate 50-person capacity, creating a rare, ultra-premium learning dynamic where every participant had direct, face-to-face access to global faculty.

 

Under the leadership of Chairman Dr. Todd Hanna, MD, DDS, FACS, and co-chairs Dr. Mark J. Bronsky, DMD, MS and Dr. Natalie Plana, MD, the inaugural event established a highly academic yet practical forum for interdisciplinary dialogue.

 

Bridging the Structural Divide

 

For decades, orthognathic surgery focused primarily on occlusion and functional skeletal relationships, while soft-tissue rejuvenation operated in a separate aesthetic domain. As highlighted throughout the symposium's lectures, modern facial surgery now demands an integrated approach. The course outline comprehensively mapped this synergy, deep-diving into topics such as airway-centered orthognathic workflows, custom facial skeletal implants, and advanced deep plane face and neck lifting.

 

A primary highlight of the educational program was a live surgical demonstration that seamlessly wedded these concepts. Attendees observed a complex procedure combining hard and soft tissue facial aesthetics executed via virtual surgical planning (VSP) and custom patient-specific hardware. The interactive format allowed real-time questions and answers (Q&A) with the operating suite, providing a rare window into intraoperative judgment and the precise balancing of hard-tissue advancements with soft-tissue draping.

 

Keynote and Panel Insights

 

The faculty roster read as a who’s who of craniomaxillofacial and aesthetic innovation:

 

  • Dr. Eduardo D. Rodriguez, MD, DDS, FACS (Keynote Speaker): The pioneer of facial transplantation delivered a powerful address reinforcing that aesthetic excellence is fundamentally inseparable from complex structural reconstruction. His philosophy emphasized that harmony between bone and soft tissue is what truly restores expression and human identity.

  • Dr. Sam Rizk, MD, FACS and Dr. Ben Paul, MD: Brought unparalleled expertise from the New York facial plastic surgery landscape, detailing precision-driven workflows for deep plane facelifts, rhinoplasty, and periorbital rejuvenation.

  • Dr. Robert Radu Ilesan, MD, DMD, PhD (Switzerland): Expanded on the digital future, showcasing how AI-enhanced CMF workflows, automated segmentation, and non-ionizing virtual planning are creating safer, more predictable outcomes in orthognathic and sleep apnea surgery.

  • Dr. Brian Farrell and Dr. Jonathas Claus (Brazil): Addressed the expanding realm of minimally invasive, office-based, and outpatient orthognathic surgery techniques, demonstrating how advanced digital planning shortens recovery without sacrificing structural harmony.

  • Dr. Steve Baker and Dr. Clement Kairouz: Rounded out the multi-disciplinary perspective by mapping out the boundaries of facial skeletal contouring textbooks and facially-driven aesthetic dentistry respectively, proving that a perfect smile must be built in harmony with the surrounding facial envelope.

 

The Interdisciplinary Future

 

The true success of The Manhattan Meeting 2026 lay in its ability to break down traditional specialty silos. By gathering oral and maxillofacial surgeons, plastic surgeons, orthodontists, and cosmetic dentists under one roof, the symposium underscored that optimal facial aesthetics cannot be achieved in isolation (Figs 2 and 3).

 

While the 2026 session has concluded, the principles established during these two days will undoubtedly influence surgical planning, digital workflows, and patient care for years to come.

 

Comparative Analysis: Educational Networking vs. Open Access Publishing Costs

 

For practicing and academic surgeons, integrating clinical expertise into the global scientific dialogue always involves balancing professional development allocations. Table 1 shows a direct financial comparison between attending The Manhattan Meeting 2026 and the Article Processing Charges (APCs) of leading, peer-reviewed Elsevier journals on ScienceDirect dedicated to publishing clinical case reports.

 

Analytical Takeaway

 

This comparative analysis demonstrates a striking financial parity: the cost of a single Open Access publication in a niche medical journal is nearly identical to the full registration fee for an exclusive, premium international symposium in New York City.

 

  • Publication (APC): An investment of $1,520–$1,790 secures a permanent digital footprint in scientific literature, contributing to long-term academic metrics, indexing, and the author's h-index.

  • The Symposium (The Manhattan Meeting): An investment of $1,800 provides “active,” dynamic clinical capital. Instead of a static page in a database, the clinician walks away with real-world, unedited surgical solutions (such as live custom-hardware VSP execution) and the chance to pitch difficult case scenarios face-to-face to pioneers like Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez or Dr. Sebastian Cotofana in an uncrowded 50-seat room.

 

For the modern surgeon-scientist, these avenues are complementary rather than competitive. The complex case management paradigms and complication-solving frameworks studied at The Manhattan Meeting serve as the perfect catalyst for drafting high-tier Case Reports worthy of submission to these exact open-access journals.

 

Corporate Alliance & Technological Backing

 

Innovation does not happen in isolation. It thrives when clinical masters collaborate directly with industry engineering partners. The Manhattan Meeting 2026 was made possible through the generous support and exhibition of its official corporate partners:

 

  • DePuy Synthes.

  • KLS Martin.

  • Zimmer Biomet.

  • ZEISS Medical Technology.

  • American Orthodontics.

  • Canfield Scientific.

  • NEK Spine.

  • Brumaba.

  • Tulip Medical Products.

  • L'Atelier Forte.

  • ImmersiveTouch.

  • Ronin Surgical.

  • Black & Black Surgical.

  • Align Technology.

 

These tech and industry leaders showcased the latest biomechanical breakthroughs, diagnostic software, custom hardware arrays, and surgical equipment that will continue to drive patient safety and outcome precision for years to come.

FIGURE 1. Screenshot from the Meeting’s webpage: https://hannafacejaw.com/the-manhattan-meeting-2026/ [1].

FIGURE 2A. Photos from the Meeting: Images from the Meeting’s webpage [1]. Eduardo D. Rodriguez, MD, DDS, FACS and Daniel Buchbinder, MD, DMD, FACS.

FIGURE 2B. Photos from the Meeting: Images from the Meeting’s webpage [1]. The organizing team.

FIGURE 2C. Photos from the Meeting: Images from the Meeting’s webpage [1].  Lectures by Jonathas Claus, DDS, PhD.

FIGURE 2D. Photos from the Meeting: Images from the Meeting’s webpage [1]. Lectures by Mark J. Bronsky, DMD, MS.

FIGURE 2E. Photos from the Meeting: Images from the Meeting’s webpage [1]. Lectures by Sam Rizk, MD, FACS.

FIGURE 3A. Photos from the Meeting: Images from the Meeting’s Instagram account @manhattanmeetinghfj [2]. Discussion at Dr. Hanna’s lecture. 

FIGURE 3B. Photos from the Meeting: Images from the Meeting’s Instagram account @manhattanmeetinghfj [2]. Lecture by Robert Radu Ilesan, MD, DMD, PhD.

TABLE 1. Cost Comparison.

Each symposium has a unique charm, fosters unpredictable connections, opens new horizons, and inspires new achievements. [5-8]. Wrapping up this meeting in the very heart of New York city, colleagues are already dreaming about the next one.

 

Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.

—Helen Keller

USA author, disability rights advocate, political activist and lecturer

 

 

Declaration of Generative AI and AI-assisted Technologies in the Writing Process

 

The author states that artificial intelligence (AI) (Google AI) was used to create a price comparison table based on links provided to the AI.

 

Funding

 

None declared.

 

Conflicts of Interest

 

The author declares no conflicts of interest.

 

REFERENCES (8)

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  2. Manhattan Meeting. @manhattanmeetinghfj. August 3, 2026. Accessed September 6, 2026. https://www.instagram.com/manhattanmeetinghfj/

  3. Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Cases. Elsevier. Accessed September 7, 2026. https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/oral-and-maxillofacial-surgery-cases

  4. Otolaryngology Case Reports. Elsevier. Accessed September 7, 2026. https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/otolaryngology-case-reports

  5. Khadem AA. Review of events. J Diagn Treat Oral Maxillofac Pathol. 2019;1(3-4):A6-A8. https://doi.org/10.23999/j.dtomp.2017.3-4.13

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  8. Pavlenko RA, Romanova AY, Fesenko II. 1st Kyiv Round Table Dedicated to TMJ Fractures Treatment (1st Kyiv TMJ Round Table): 27, 28 December 2018 – Kyiv – Ukraine. J Diagn Treat Oral Maxillofac Pathol. 2019;3(1):1-4. https://doi.org/10.23999/j.dtomp.2019.1.3