On-site preparation of a facial prosthesis using a rapid prototyping tool

Accidents can cause fractures of facial or cranial bones. In many cases, those fractures can only be treated through a surgical procedure and with the help of facial implants, because the complex and irregular anatomy of the face does not allow for an easy reduction to initial position of those bones. The face it is what defines us most, many identification systems being based on face recognition. That means there can hardly be found two similar facial anatomies. On the other hand, the very basic rules of economy lead us to make several standardized types of facial implants. The “one size fits all” principle may prove insufficient for a good recovery after a facial fracture with displacement. The obvious solution is to make customized implants, but this may prove both economically and surgically not feasible. The cost may be too high and the time needed for execution may exceed the medical constraints. In this article, the authors present a potential solution to all these problems, proposing a way to make customized facial implants, using a rapid prototyping tool. The few preliminary experiments showed a good quality of the resulting items, a quick enough procedure to be used during a normal surgery, and a reasonable cost.