Quick Method for Presurgical Volumetric Analysis of Alveolar Cleft Defects

Presurgical evaluation of the alveolar cleft defect is an essential and crucial step for procedural success. This study proposes a method for rapid and precise volumetric assessment of alveolar cleft defects using computed tomography data and computer-aided engineering (CAE) software. For comparison, 3-dimensional-printed models of the alveolar bone were also made. A simulated graft was used on the models and the graft volume was measured using the water displacement technique. We then compared the CAE software-derived volumes with the actual volumes of the simulated grafts. The intraclass correlation coefficient ranged from 0.95 to 0.97 (intraobserver) and 0.94 to 0.98 (interobserver), indicating a high level of reliability and reproducibility of the CAE measurements. The mean time spent to calculate an alveolar cleft defect volume was 8.4 minutes. The average volume of the simulated bone grafts of 3-dimensional-printed models was 1.39 mL, which was lower than the mean volume of 1.42 mL calculated using the CAE software. The paired Student t-test showed no statistically significant difference between the volumes derived from the 2 methods. This study demonstrates that this quick assessment method is a useful adjunct to busy clinical practice.