In-House Virtual Planning and 3D-Printed Surgical Guides for Reconstructive Rhinoplasty

Rubio-Palau J, Gonçalves J, Malet-Contreras A, Adell-Gómez N, Arenas-Costa T, Calonge W, Valls-Esteve A, Valls-Ontañón A.

PubMed 39161317 Publisher (DOI)

What this paper says

A children's hospital craniofacial unit describes an in-house workflow for virtually planning complex rhinoplasty and 3D-printing cutting guides and splints for septal and rib grafts, with a mean ROE satisfaction of 18 of 24.

Overview

Rhinoplasty in patients with craniofacial malformations is difficult even for experts. The Barcelona maxillofacial team describes a preliminary in-house workflow: virtual surgical planning, then printed guides to harvest and shape septal and costochondral grafts and templates to verify the sculpted nasal shape against the plan. Patient numbers are not stated in the abstract.

Sections of note

Setting: the maxillofacial department of a children's hospital specialising in cleft and craniofacial malformations.
Guides helped harvest and mould septal and rib grafts more accurately and reduced surgical time.
Templates verified the dimensions of the sculpted nose against the plan.
Patient satisfaction on ROE: 18 of 24.
Described as a preliminary report.

What it means for a patient

For complex reconstructive noses, computer planning and printed templates can make graft carving more precise.
The satisfaction score reported is moderate-to-good, not maximal.
Numbers, follow-up and complications are not given.

Why this paper matters

It shows 3D planning moving from implant design into autologous graft shaping for craniofacial cases. Limits: preliminary, no patient count, no comparison.

Terms

Virtual surgical planning: designing the operation on a 3D computer model from the patient's scans.
Cutting guide: a printed template placed on tissue to direct where cuts are made.
Costochondral graft: rib cartilage (with or without a bone segment).
ROE: Rhinoplasty Outcome Evaluation, here reported on a 24-point raw scale.

Summary written by rhinoplasty.cc from the abstract, 2026-09-08; not medical advice. The authors' own abstract follows.

From the abstract

“Performing rhinoplasty in patients with craniofacial malformations remains a challenge, even for experienced surgeons. Advances in 3-dimensional technology and their application in surgical planning and printing of cutting guides and splints have become important tools for improving aesthetic and functional results.…”

Excerpt; the full abstract is on PubMed.