Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 6, 2025
Digital Hybrid Model Preparation for Virtual Planning of Reconstructive Dentoalveolar Surgical Procedures
Published on: August 5, 2021
Virtual surgical planning for mandibular reconstruction in an abbreviated admission pathway
Olivia E Speed1, Kaersti L Rickels1, Soroush Farsi1
1Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Little Rock, AR, United States of America.
Objectives:
Virtual Surgical Planning (VSP) creates individualized surgical plans for free flap reconstruction of mandibular defects. Prior studies indicate that VSP can offer cost benefits due to reduced operative time and length of stay (LOS). We assessed the impact of VSP in the context of a validated postoperative abbreviated LOS clinical pathway.
Methods:
This study assessed patients undergoing VSP vs conventional fibular free flap reconstruction for mandibular defects (12/2015-10/2020) and their operative time, ischemia time, and LOS were evaluated.
Results:
Forty-four patients underwent VSP reconstruction, while 52 patients underwent conventional reconstruction for mandibular defects. VSP was associated with significantly lower total operative time (6 h and 57 mins vs 7 h and 54 mins, p = 0.011), but not length of stay or ischemia time. Total OR time was significantly increased with increasing number of segments needed in both the VSP group (p = 0.002) and the conventional group (p = 0.015).
Conclusion:
Shorter operative times and LOS have been attributed to the use of VSP in free tissue transfers. It is argued that these reductions offset the added cost of VSP. Our study indicates that there is no cost benefit for VSP utilization due to a significantly reduced operative time with no impact on length of admission in an abbreviated admission clinical pathway following free tissue transfer.
