Facial asymmetry quantitative evaluation in oculoauriculovertebral spectrum

Area of Science:

• Craniofacial Surgery
• Medical Imaging
• Pediatric Surgery

Background:

• Facial asymmetries in oculoauriculovertebral spectrum (OAVS) are common and often require surgical correction.
• Current surgical planning relies heavily on qualitative assessments and surgeon experience.
• A need exists for objective, quantitative methods to guide maxillo-facial surgery in OAVS patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a quantitative 3D CT imaging-based procedure for assessing facial asymmetries in OAVS patients.
• To establish a precise method for maxillo-facial surgery planning in OAVS.
• To provide objective data for surgical decision-making and follow-up.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective enrollment of 13 OAVS patients and 13 controls who underwent head CT.
• Definition of eight bilateral anatomical facial landmarks on 3D CT reconstructions.
• Calculation of asymmetry using distances from orthogonal planes and a global asymmetry index, compared against control group norms.

Main Results:

• OAVS patients exhibited significantly more asymmetric landmarks compared to controls.
• 92% of OAVS patients had at least one pathologically asymmetric landmark based on global asymmetry values.
• Analysis of individual axes revealed a mean of 5.5 ± 2.6 pathologically asymmetric landmarks per patient, with all patients showing significant asymmetry.

Conclusions:

• 3D CT reconstructions offer accurate, quantitative assessment of facial bone asymmetries in OAVS.
• The developed method provides precise global and axial asymmetry data crucial for maxillo-facial surgical planning.
• This quantitative approach can aid in both the planning and follow-up of maxillo-facial surgery for OAVS patients.