Accuracy of 3-dimensional soft tissue prediction for orthognathic surgery in a Chinese population.

Abstract Objectives This study aims to determine the validity of a 3D planning software in predicting the soft tissue outcome of Chinese patients undergoing orthognathic surgery for correction of Skeletal III dentofacial deformity. Methods Pre- and post-operative 3D facial stereophotogrammetric scans and cone beam computed tomography were taken for 10 Chinese patients who had underwent orthognathic surgery. The pre-operative 3D facial scan was integrated with the pre-operative CBCT using the ProPlan CMF software. The simulated soft tissue 3D face was then compared with the actual 3D facial scan obtained at least 6 months postoperatively. Two outcome measures were computed as follows (i) mean absolute difference between meshes (ii) percentage of points where the distance between the two meshes is 2mm or less. Results The mean absolute difference between the predicted and actual soft tissue surface meshes for the full face and the 6 anatomic regions ranged from 0.72mm to 1.42 mm. The mean absolute distance between the meshes for all the anatomic regions were within 2 mm (p Conclusions Using ProPlan CMF, the accuracy of 3D soft tissue predictions for bimaxillary orthognathic surgery in Chinese Skeletal III patients were clinically satisfactory.