3-DIMENSIONAL COMPUTED-TOMOGRAPHY IMAGING IN THE EVALUATION OF CRANIOFACIAL ABNORMALITIES

A retrospective study was undertaken to assess the value of three-dime nsional computed tomography (3-D CT) in evaluating craniofacial abnorm alities. Over a 2-year period, 145 children evaluated with routine two -dimensional (2-D) CT had 3-D CT reformatted images assessing a variet y of anomalies including craniosynostosis, midface clefts, trauma, and craniofacial syndromes. There were 62 females and 83 males ranging in age from 1 month to 17 years (median: 5 months). Both soft-tissue and bone algorithms were used. In all 145 cases, the 3-D CT images confir med or provided additional information of depth perception, contours, volumes, and extent of an abnormality. This was especially important a nd useful in the settings of complex anomalies and preoperative planni ng. We concluded that 3-D CT reconstructed images in conjunction with routine 2-D CT should be an integral part of the examination in evalua ting craniofacial abnormalities.