"Side table assembly"--an adjuvant to craniofacial reconstruction.

Plates and screws are used extensively in craniofacial surgery; they have increased the speed of this surgery, but this can be made even more efficient. Utilising an adjacent instrument table, the rearrangement and reassembly of bone segments resulting from osteotomy or fracture can be performed by a second surgical team using plates and screws. At the conclusion of the operation, the reassembled bony reconstruction can rapidly be placed in position with a minimum of additional screws. This technique has been found to be technically easier and to afford a considerable saving of operating time.