[The use of 3-dimensional models in craniofacial surgery]

With the aid of axial CT scanning a polyurethane or resin copy of bony tissue of the craniofacial region of interest can be manufactured. 3-dimensional models are used in planning of osteotomies of the midface and forehead, where complex bone transpositions are to be performed, and in manufacturing complex implants. Different preoperative steps in several patients are demonstrated and the postoperative results are shown. Patient A was a 9-year-old girl who had radiotherapy as a baby for retinoblastoma which destroyed a large part of her face. In patient B, a 46-year-old woman, the whole zygomatic bone and three-quarters of the floor of the orbit were among other things resected for a low-grade osteosarcoma. Patient C had Goldenhar's syndrome (oculoauriculovertebral dysplasia). In all 3 patients reconstructive surgery was prepared with 3-dimensional cut models.