Early clinical efficacy of computer-aided three-dimensional frontal orbital reconstruction for pediatric metopic synostosis

Abstract

Objective To qualitatively evaluate the curative effect on frontal orbit reconstruction for pediatric metopic synostosis and explore the application of computer-aided three-dimensional reconstruction during cranial-facial procedures. Methods Retrospective analysis was performed for clinical data of 17 children of isolated non-syndromic metopic synostosi as confirmed by computed tomography (CT) reconstruction from May 2005 to July 2005. Mimics 15.0 was employed for reconstructing cranial thin-section CT images at pre-operation and post-operation and then calculating the values of anterior cranial volume, whole cranial volume and frontal angle. Perioperative measurements were analyzed by paired t test. Results The average operative age was (18.84±18.84) months, the average operative duration (222.29±48.99) min and the average amount of blood transfusion (252.94±48.99) ml. And the average value of anterior cranial volume was (216.84±62.56) cm3, whole cranial volume (967.03±271.65) cm3 and frontal angle (99.97±6.09)°. For post-operation, average anterior cranial volume was (266.55±69.82) cm3, cranial volume (1072.71±258.48) cm3 and frontal angle (119.37±8.97)°. All parameters were significantly increased as compared with preoperative ones (P<0.000 1; P=0.000 8; P<0.000 1). All cranial types obviously improved postoperatively and no complications occurred. Conclusions For pediatric metopic synostosis, frontal orbit reconstruction is both safe and effective. Computer-aided three-dimensional reconstruction may improve the diagnostic and surgical accuracy. It also facilitates quantitative evaluations of disease severity and surgical efficacy. Key words: Child; Three-dimensional reconstruction; Metopic synostosis; Frontal-orbital reconstruction surgery