INDICATIONS AND APPLICATIONS OF STEREOLIT HOGRAPHIC SKULL RECONSTRUCTIONS IN ORAL AND MAXILLOFACIAL SURGERY

Stereolithography (SLA), a rapid prototyping technique, was introduced in 1991 at the Clinic for Maxillofacial Surgery in Vienna and was ada pted, in cooperation with the company Laserform, for our clinical requ irements. As a refinement to physical models milled out of polyurethan e, which had been used since 1989, this technique offered new applicat ions for preoperative planning in craniomaxillofacial surgery. The pro portions of these 3D models correspond 1:1 to the patients dimensions, with a possible accuracy of 0.25 mm. Since 1992 stereolithography has been used in 124 cases, primarily in traumatology, tumor surgery and in craniofacial surgery.