Virtual Bending of Mandibular Reconstruction Plates Using a Computer-Aided Design

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility of virtually designing and manufacturing a template for reconstruction plate bending, to be used during treatment of congenital or acquired bony entities. The outcome was compared with plates bent by the freehand approach in a stereolithographic skull model. Materials and Methods: From a computed tomography examination, a polygon skull was created and the corresponding stereolithographic model retrieved. A polygon mesh of a Compact UniLock 2.4-mm plate was obtained from Synthes (Bettlach, Switzerland). The polygon plate was bent virtually around the mandible and rendered in all 3 dimensions, and a template was created. Five 10-hole plates were bent using this template, and five 10-hole plates were bent using a stereolithographic model as the template. The 2 groups were compared using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. P values less than .001 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: No statistical difference was seen between the 2 methods. The median discrepancy between the 2 groups was 0.1 mm. Conclusion: Within the constraints of this investigation, by use of a virtually produced template based on a virtually planned reconstruction, it is possible to bend a reconstruction plate with the same degree of accuracy as that of the traditional freehand approach. (C) 2009 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons J Oral Maxillofac Surg 67:1640-1643, 2009