youre right, but.
article doesn't say surgery in adulthood is necessarily better than prior to growth just less risky, second/third surgeries might be needed (not always) but i dont think everything is as cut and dry as the article implies. surgeons with 30+ years of experience and responsible for recognizing long face syndrome have told me straight up intervention early in childhood can halt severe development problems later in life, and lead ultimately to a better aesthetic and functional result. the real issue is recognizing and eliminating the causes if they are induced by the environment.
well the implication of the part you quoted isn't that you're suddenly gonna start growing cheekbones when your jaws moved forward, or that they aren't going to fall back into the same pattern they were already in; it's that the natural aesthetic improvement of surgery will help them fit in with their peers. It's why a second surgery is almost always indicated, because the first is a holdover to help kids get through adolescence.
environment is a different ballgame.