[Methods for simulation of surgical interventions in head and neck surgery]

Preoperative evaluation of the operating site is essential in planning surgical procedures. The relationship of pathology to adjacent tissues and vital anatomical structures needs to be analyzed to determine the intraoperative procedures required. For this the surgeon mentally simulates the procedure planned. For complicated conditions or reconstructive surgery in extensive bony defects, surgery can be simulated with three-dimensional reconstruction on either a monitor screen or on an individually manufactured plastic model of the patient. For this purpose different procedures for 3 D representation and manipulation of tomographic image data have been developed in our departments and the technique of stereolithography used experimentally to create custom-made plastic model of patients. A computerized video image manipulator was also developed for simulation of aesthetic plastic surgical procedures.