INDIVIDUAL PROSTHESES AND RESECTION TEMPLATES FOR MANDIBULAR RESECTION AND RECONSTRUCTION

This new technique uses helical computed tomography data and computer- aided design and manufacturing for preoperative fabrication of individ ual mandibular prostheses together with corresponding resection templa tes, Coherent 3D geometries for computer-based models are the basis fo r the construction of prostheses and provide data for a computerized n umerical control fabrication, Fixation plates are fabricated with the titanium prostheses, The identical data of these plates are used for t he computer-aided design and manufacturing of resection templates, whi ch guide an oscillating saw in a precisely determined resection plane, This plane again is identical with the prostheses) margins for mandib ular body replacement, The use of this technique in four patients is r eported on: after temporary insertion of the templates for resection a nd after resection, the prostheses were stabilized with the same screw s in the same screw-holes where the templates had been, Resection and reconstruction were thus highly precise, safe and fast and primarily l ed to excellent aesthetic and functional results, Wound-healing depend s on a safe soft-tissue reconstruction over these large prostheses, Co verage with flaps seems obligatory In spite of the superior technical aspects, the clinical long-term results of this new technique were poo r.