Findings show shorter operating time and lower risk for long-term complications requiring hardware removal versus conventional techniques
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter
FRIDAY, May 9, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) techniques can improve some key clinical outcomes for patients undergoing jaw reconstruction after surgery for head and neck cancer, according to a study published in the May issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
Faut Baris Bengur, M.D., from the University of Pittsburgh, and colleagues compared short- and long-term outcomes between conventional and CAD/CAM approaches for mandibular reconstruction with free fibula flaps. The analysis included 215 patients (conventional, 79 individuals; CAD/CAM, 136 individuals).
The researchers found that the mean operative duration was 54 minutes shorter with the use of CAD/CAM. There were similar total and partial flap loss rates between the groups. There were significantly lower rates of early wound dehiscence among patients with CAD/CAM. When excluding patients with major surgical complications in the first 30 days, the CAD/CAM group had a lower hardware removal rate (28.8 versus 13.9 percent), with this difference persisting when including only patients with more than two years of follow-up.
“Given the added cost with the use of CAD/CAM, future studies focusing on cost-effectiveness of this approach with respect to long-term outcomes and hardware maintenance will be important to justify the clinical significance of our results,” the authors write.
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