Virtual Surgical Planning in Orthognathic Surgery: Wafer-Only Versus Customized Guide-Plate System.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to compare the clinical accuracy of maxillary positioning in bimaxillary orthognathic surgery based on the method of virtual surgical planning (VSP) implementation, specifically contrasting the use of the wafer-only versus the customized guide-plate system.

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

Thirty-four patients who underwent bimaxillary orthognathic surgery were retrospectively analyzed and divided into 2 groups: a control group (wafer-only, n=17) and a study group (wafer+guide+plate, n=17). Surgical accuracy was quantitatively evaluated by comparing the 3-dimensional coordinates of 5 maxillary landmarks between the virtual surgical plan (Tv) and postoperative cone-beam computed tomography (T1) using dedicated 3D analysis software. In addition, postoperative skeletal stability was evaluated by comparing T1 and T2.

RESULTS

The study group showed significantly better accuracy in transverse (0.36 mm versus 0.86 mm) and anterior vertical dimensions (0.51 mm versus 1.45 mm). Both groups experienced challenges with posterior vertical positioning and sagittal accuracy. Six-month stability analysis revealed no significant differences between groups, with mean absolute changes of 0.39-1.41 mm (study) and 0.44-1.39 mm (control).

CONCLUSION

The guide-plate system offers a clinically meaningful improvement in maxillary positioning accuracy over the wafer-only approach, particularly in complex cases requiring high precision. Both methods demonstrated comparable 6-month stability, indicating that the enhanced initial accuracy does not compromise postoperative stability.