Stereolithography Model in Presurgical Planning of Craniofacial Surgery

A rapid prototyping technique, which was originally used in mechanical engineering, has found applications in medicine. Recently stereolithographic models have been used in complex craniofacial surgeries for visualization, presurgical planning and implant design[ 1- 4]. There are some advantages ofmodel fabrication when preparing for surgery: more accurate evaluation ofthe patient's condition/deformities, better informed consent for surgery and better-fitting artificial body parts. This paper is a case report in which a sterelithographic skull model was used in the presurgical planning of a complex craniofacial tumor resection