The Virtual Surgical Management of Facial Fibrous Dysplasia

Fibrous dysplasia (FD) is a benign condition, which is characterized by the replacement of normal bone with fibrous tissue and the deposition of woven bone in an irregular manner. Surgical resection, careful corrective osteotomies as debulking, and recontouring procedures are frequently performed, but can be complicated by postoperative regrowth of the lesion. The main aim of this study was to introduce a computer-guided technique for a predetermined technique of bone contouring of craniofacial FD involving the facial bones.

This case report was conducted on an 18-year-old girl complaining of unilateral craniofacial dysplasia. Upon clinical examination and radiographic examination, a customized computer-generated bone contouring guide was designed using virtual surgical software for accurate contouring of excess bone in the cranial vault and frontal bone. This guide was virtually designed after importing the multislice computerized tomography scans into the virtual surgical planning software. It was generated based on the mirroring option of the unaffected normal side along the median sagittal plane. In the surgery, the guide was seated in place and 5 mm implant drills were inserted through the guide depth holes. Bone removal was made using surgical burs connecting the guiding depth holes.

At the end of the follow-up, the patient showed acceptance of her external appearance with no signs of infection or dehiscence.

This patient-specific cutting guide shows a promising solution for preplanned bone removal in cases with unilateral craniofacial FD.