The value of virtual simulation for pre-operative planning in Rhinoplasty

Abstract

Background: Rhinoplasty is widely recognized as one of the most difficult procedures in plastic surgeries, two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) digital imaging have played an important role in this field, being as a valuable tool throughout preoperative and intraoperative analysis to evaluate the use and efficacy of preoperative 3D virtual simulation and surgical planning in rhinoplasty. Methods: This prospective randomised clinical work was performed on 30 patients with external nasal deformities of dorsum with or without tip deformities as dorsal hump, Nasal tip jobs, posttraumatic deformities. Participants had been subdivided into two groups equally: Group A: Conventional-procedure rhinoplasty and group B: Rhinoplasty with preoperative 3D-simulation. All patients were subjected to software CT scanners (giving the comprehensive 3-D digital visualization for the anatomy of the head and neck of the patient). Results: Rhinoplasty outcome evaluation (ROE) questionnaire demonstrated that participants who had been satisfied with the look of their nose as well as the aesthetic score were significantly higher in group B. Surgical time had been significantly increased in group A. There was a significant agreement between the 3 raters in group B and no significant variation was existed among both groups as regard to complications, the average objective evaluation of the rhinoplasty, breathing from nose and functional score between the studied groups.Conclusions: In rhinoplasty, virtual simulation using 3D technology and 3D printed anatomic surgical guide showed better promising results regarding surgical time, ROE and patients’ satisfaction with more reliable results compared to conventional methods. Virtual simulation assists in harmonizing the aesthetic objectives of the patient and surgeon.