Cephalometric radiography and computed tomography in infants undergoing major craniofacial surgery--a comparison.

Craniofacial growth after surgery in children is not completely understood. We have therefore formed a programme for pre- and postoperative studies with both roentgencephalometric- and computed tomographic investigations. This regimen results in overlapping information. Thus, an assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of the two methods was made and exemplified in four patients. In our experience both cephalometry and CT are essential for the diagnosis, surgical planning and follow-up of surgically treated children with craniofacial anomalies. To minimize the radiation doses and the diagnostic procedures which in these cases often includes general anesthesia, patients with isolated, asymmetrical conditions such as plagiocephaly, might be followed with CT only, since roentgencephalometry can not add much information.