Computer-Assisted Design and Manufacturing Assists Less Experienced Surgeons in Achieving Equivalent Outcomes in Cranial Vault Reconstruction.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess whether long-term outcomes were equivalent between computer-assisted design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) -assisted cranial vault reconstruction performed by an inexperienced surgeon, with fewer years of surgical experience, and traditional reconstruction performed by senior surgeons with many decades of experience.

METHODS

An Institutional Review Board-approved retrospective cohort study was performed for all patients with nonsyndromic craniosynostosis between the ages of 1 month to 18 years who received primary, open calvarial vault reconstruction at the Johns Hopkins Hospital between 1990 and 2017. The primary outcome variable was the Whitaker category (I-IV) for level of required revision at the 2-year follow-up visit. Secondary outcomes included estimated blood loss, length of stay, operative time, and postoperative complications. CAD/CAM-assisted surgery was considered noninferior if the proportion of cases requiring any revision (Whitaker II, III, or IV) was no more than 10% greater than the proportion in the traditional surgery group with multivariate logistic regression analysis. t tests and fisher exact tests were used for secondary outcomes.

RESULTS

A total of 335 patients were included, with 35 CAD/CAM-assisted reconstructions. CAD/CAM-assisted reconstruction was noninferior to traditional after accounting for patient demographics, type of surgery, and experience level of the plastic surgeon. The traditional group required revision more frequently at 29.0% compared to CAD/CAM at 14.3%. Secondary outcomes were not significantly different between groups, but CAD/CAM had significantly longer average operative times (5.7 hours for CAD/CAM, 4.3 hours for traditional, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSION

CAD/CAM technology may lower the learning curve and assist less experienced plastic surgeons in achieving equivalent long-term outcomes in craniofacial reconstruction.