[OsiriX, a useful tool for processing tomographic images in patients with facial fracture]

OsiriX, a Mac OS X-based open source program, is presented as a useful tool to process tomographic images for diagnosis and preoperative planning in patients with facial fractures.

CT scans were performed on 124 patients with facial fractures treated at the Department of Maxillofacial and Reconstructive Surgery of the Hospital de Traumatología y Ortopedia "Lomas Verdes" in Mexico City. Information obtained was recorded in DICOM format in CDs and processed in a Macintosh laptop with OsiriX software, doing multiplanar and 3D reconstructions. Surgical findings were compared to the images obtained by the software.

Of the surgical findings, 96.5% matched with the OsiriX images. Only 3.5% of the OsiriX images were not consistent because of distortion or artifacts in the CT due to firearm projectiles and Erich arch bars near the involved area.

Based on the results obtained, the authors consider that the OsiriX software is a useful tool for diagnosis and preoperative planning in patients with facial fractures. Furthermore, it prevents the loss of information due to the process of image selection by the radiology staff.