Patients undergoing major procedures in oral and maxillofacial surgery more often develop a systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) in the first days of postoperative critical care therapy than patients with a comparable major surgery in other regions. The reasons for this finding are unknown and have not been studied in depth so far. We hypothesize that surgical trauma in this region might activate pro-inflammatory pathways. By examining the proteome of patients at different stages (prior to the surgery, at ICU admission, on the second postoperative day and when SIRS has ended clinically), we aim to identify the involved pro-inflammatory pathways and identify possible target proteins that might be clues to modification of postoperative SIRS in the future.

Inclusion Criteria:

• age 18-99yrs
• scheduled for elective surgery with risk for development of SIRS
• written and informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• age <18yrs
• pregnancy
• emergency surgery
• failure to obtain patient consent

all patients undergoing major procedures in oral and maxillofacial surgery during the study period