The virtual patient model for correction of facial deformity and accuracy of simulation and surgical guide construction

Abstract

The surgical correction of jaw and facial deformity has evolved from the use of plaster models to the current standard of creating a virtual model of the patient's skull, jaws and teeth for aiding diagnosis, creating trial surgery to see check feasibility, creating surgical simulations to assess the eventual aesthetic outcome to the creation of patient specific cutting and positioning guides. The authors will discuss briefly the evolution, the current methods of creating virtual models utilizing CT or Cone beam CT scans, the use of biomechanical models for surgical simulation in the quest for greater accuracy in surgical simulation and the relatively newer methods of creating surgical guides for cutting, positioning and fixation.