THREE-DIMENSIONAL CONFUTED TOMOGRAPHY FOR EVALUATION AND PLANNING OF ORAL AND MAXILLOFACIAL SURGERY

ABSTRACT

Diagnosis of maxillofacial lesions is very difficult. Recent developments in computed tomography enable the production of three dimnesional images of complex anatomical structures from a series of conventional computed tomographic sections. Methods of three-dimensional analysis of computed tomographic images have recently been described. Mostly, reports have concentrated on applications relative to congenital deformities. In this report, one method of three dimensional reformatting is reviews. Images formed by this method have solid surface appearance and can be color enhanced and manipulated to isolate anatomic structures of interest. The program allows tissue densities, volumes, and distances. This report emphasizes maxillofacial applications other than those previously reported in the surgical and radiological literature.