Surgical Planning in Pan Facial Trauma Using Additive Manufacturing Medical Model-A Case Study

Abstract

Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology is an engineering technology which has a wide scope in medical field. Of various medical fields, craniofacial and maxillofacial surgery adapted this technology and is making use of it to overcome the shortcomings of traditional procedures. Medical application of AM or Rapid prototyping was started two decades ago and is expanding its frontiers with the advancement in technology and technical expertise by the medical professionals. AM technology is widely being used in maxillofacial surgery for hassle free planning, patient education and execution of the surgical procedure and for precision using medical models. The Current case is of pan facial trauma with multiple facial bones fracture treated by surgical planning on AM medical model to adapt the mini plates to be prior to the surgery. This paper also deals with the importance of AM medical models in complex surgeries for better outcome.