Accuracy of Three-Dimensional Soft-Tissue Prediction Considering the Facial Aesthetic Units Using a Virtual Planning System in Orthognathic Surgery

Virtual surgical planning (VSP) is commonly used in orthognathic surgery. A precise soft-tissue predictability would be a helpful tool, for determining the correct displacement distances of the maxilla and mandible. This study aims to evaluate the soft-tissue predictability of the VSP software IPS CaseDesigner(®) (KLS Martin Group, Tuttlingen, Germany). Twenty patients were treated with bimaxillary surgery and were included in the study. The soft-tissue simulation, done by the VSP was exported as STL files in the engineering software Geomagic Control X(TM) (3D systems, RockHill, SC, USA). Four months after surgery, a 3D face scan of every patient was performed and compared to the preoperative simulation. The quality of the soft-tissue simulation was validated with the help of a distance map. This distance map was calculated using the inter-surface distance algorithm between the preoperative simulation of the soft-tissue and the actual scan of the postoperative soft-tissue surface. The prediction of the cranial parts of the face (upper cheek, nose, upper lip) was more precise than the prediction of the lower areas (lower cheek, lower lip, chin). The percentage of correctly predicted soft-tissue for the face in total reached values from 69.4% to 96.0%. The VSP system IPS CaseDesigner(®) (KLS Martin Group; Tuttlingen, Germany) predicts the patient’s post-surgical soft-tissue accurately. Still, this simulation has to be seen as an approximation, especially for the lower part of the face, and continuous improvement of the underlying algorithm is needed for further development.