Evaluation of Soft Tissue Changes Following Orthognathic Surgery Using Virtual Surgical Planning Software

Abstract

Context: Orthognathic surgery brings about a harmonious relationship between jaws, resulting in improved facial aesthetics. It is key to analyze if satisfactory results can be attained by using virtual surgical planning for orthognathic procedures so as to recommend it for routine clinical practice. Aims: The aims of this study were to evaluate the various soft tissue changes that take place following orthognathic surgery using three-dimensional (3D) imaging and virtual surgical planning software and quantify the accuracy of virtual surgical planning software on patients undergoing orthognathic surgery. Settings and design: This is an observational prospective study with a sample size of 12. Methods and materials: In this prospective study, 12 patients undergoing orthognathic surgery were included following the inclusion and exclusion criteria. A usual pre-surgical work-up was done and a 3D replica of the facial skeleton was formulated using the software with the DICOM data acquired from the patient i.e., CT and scans of patient’s dentition. Virtual surgical planning was done and splints were manufactured according to the desired newly achieved position. Patients were operated following the virtual surgical plan guided by the computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD-CAM) splints. Post-operative evaluation was done. As the study is more of a descriptive study to obtain detailed knowledge of a new procedure, only one group is being studied and hence there is no statistical testing included in this study. Results: The mean discrepancy noticed after superimposition of soft tissue points was 0.92 with a standard deviation of 0.3. Conclusions: 3D CT virtual surgical planning is a reliable tool to achieve predictable and reliable post-operative results in orthognathic surgical cases.