Mixed reality guided advancement osteotomies in congenital craniofacial malformations

This paper describes our experience with mixed reality (MR) intra-operative guides in patients with congenital craniofacial malformations. The first case was a patient with bilateral hemifacial microsomia. He underwent bilateral mandibular distraction osteogenesis. Pre-operative virtual planning determined the sites of osteotomy. Standard Tessellation Language (STL) files of mandibular 3D models with osteotomy sites were uploaded onto the HoloLens 2® MR glasses (Microsoft®, Washington, USA). The superimposed hologram denoted the osteotomy line. This was validated with a physical cutting guide. The second case was a patient with Crouzon’s syndrome. A modified Lefort 2 advancement was performed to correct his midfacial deficiency. Pre-operative virtual planning was performed to determine the sites of osteotomies. Superimposed hologram using the Hololens 2® denoted the osteotomy sites. These were validated with a conventional intra-operative navigation system. The advantages of using MR include its immediate availability for use; saving time and costs. MR allows surgeons to maintain continuous line-of-sight within the operative field. A robust registration system is required to anchor the hologram onto the patient’s skull without variations in hologram position from different angles of gaze. MR has the potential to function as an adjunct and possible replacement for conventional cutting guides and intra-operative navigation.

Lay summary

We describe the use of mixed reality intra-operative guides in patients with congenital craniofacial malformations. Our experience shows the potential MR has as an adjunct and possible replacement for conventional cutting guides and intra-operative navigation.