Usefulness of tridimensional cephalometry in diagnosis and surgical treatment planning when compared to bidimensional cephalometry in patients with craniofacial anomalies

Resumen

The aim of this study was to compare cephalometric results of three and two dimensional surgical predictions in patients that underwent orthognatic surgery. The study involved two groups of 15 to 30 years old patients with craniofacial anomalies. The fi rst group of patients had orthognatic surgery from April 2004 to January 2005. Pre and post-surgical lateral cephalometric measurements were done using Simplant program, (version CMF 8.2 of Materialise, NV, Belgium). The second group of patients had orthognatic surgery from January 1999 to January 2004. Pre and post-surgical lateral cephalometric measurements were done manually. The results of this study showed a more accurate surgical prediction with the Simplant program. In group I (three-dimensional cephalometric measurement) there was not a statistically significant difference between the prediction measurements done before the surgery and those compared with the post-surgically result. In group II, (two-dimensional cephalometric measurements) on the surgical predictions done previously by hand using cut and paste mobiles taken from the patient’s Hospital records, we observed that in the SNA angle and the maxillary length measurements there was a statistically difference (p < .05). Therefore we conclude that the three-dimensional method is more accurate than the twodimensional method in planning surgical orthognatic procedures.

Key words: Three-dimensional cephalometry, bi-dimensional cephalometry, craniofacial anomalies, cleft lip and palate, maxillary protrusion, mandibular pragmatism, orthognatic surgery.