Facial reconstruction on the abnormal skull model of a living patient.

OBJECTIVE

The concept of using a skull as the armature upon which to reconstruct a face has been understood for many years. The objective of this study was to blindly test this technique by using a skull that was reconstructed from the computed tomography (CT) scans of a living 48-year-old man.

DESIGN

The patient had a bilateral cleft lip, alveolus, and palate. A model of the complete skull produced by a computer-controlled milling machine that used data from the CT scans was used for the reconstruction. Surgery was then performed, and new dental prostheses were also constructed. After surgery, a second model of the relevant part of the skull was made and the reconstruction modified accordingly.

CONCLUSION

Despite having no information about the patient apart from that which could be gleaned from the model skull, the reconstructions demonstrate the approximate appearance of the face before and after surgery. Even without the extra information routinely available in forensic cases, a face broadly similar to that of the living patient could be achieved.