Virtual Surgical Planning in Orthognathic Surgery

The traditional model surgery (TMS) used historically in orthognathic surgery planning is susceptible to compounded human and material error and leads to increased cost and time expenditures. Virtual surgical planning (VSP) provides the ability to visualize surgical movements in 3D and has significant advantages compared TMS.

Using VSP, surgical movements are planned in 3D, allowing enhanced visualization of the anatomical changes induced by surgical movements. CAD/CAM technology allows for the production of surgical guides in the form of occlusal splints or, more recently, custom patient-specific fixation. Custom plates provide additional advantages including greater accuracy and improved surgical stability. The future of VSP will likely involve improvements in imaging, better prediction of soft tissue changes and simplification of the planning process to allow for same-day and surgeon-direct planning and printing.

VSP has supplanted TMS as the standard of care in the treatment planning and execution of orthognathic surgery as new innovations continue to expand the potential to improve outcomes and increase efficiency.