This paper presents a general approach for the computer aided planning and simulation of craniofacial surgery interventions. It is based on the generation of individual geometrical models of patient’s anatomy from tomographic data and a finite element model of deformable soft tissues. The presented methodology was applied for solving two typical boundary value problems arising in the craniofacial surgery planning: (i) the prediction of patient’s postoperative appearance for a given rearrangement of bones and (ii) the reverse optimization of individual facial implants for a desired correction of facial outline.