Positioning of bone segments during navigated surgery.

Purpose In navigated craniomaxillofacial surgery, bone segments often have to be repositioned. To keep them reliably in the desired place during referencing and osteosynthesis, a miniature external distractor can be used. Materials and Methods The use of a miniature external mandibular distractor is shown in a case of bilateral lateral orbital rim advancement during endocrine orbitopathy decompression surgery. Results The advantages of using a distractor are the possibility of changing the fragment position incrementally in all directions during intraoperative control with the navigated pointer and the small size of the appliance. Conclusions Bone segments can be manipulated intraoperatively with a miniature distractor in navigated surgery.