Intraoperative Navigation and Cone Beam Computed Tomography for Restoring Orbital Dimensions: A Single-Center Experience

Background: Correction of post-traumatic orbital defects remains a challenge for the maxillofacial surgeon. We examined the added value of combined intraoperative (IO) navigation and IO cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). Materials and Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed in all consecutive patients requiring unilateral post-traumatic orbital surgery between January 2012 and December 2018. Patients were divided into 3 groups: IO navigation (NAV), IO-CBCT (CBCT), and IO navigation with IO-CBCT (NAV-CBCT). A detailed description of our workflow is provided. Volumetric comparison of the operated orbit to the contralateral orbit was made with Brainlab. Results: Of the 81 cases, 22 patients were included (12 males/10 females) with a mean age of 51 years. Three patients were assigned to NAV, 6 to CBCT, and 13 to NAV-CBCT. The reconstructed orbital volume did not significantly differ from the contralateral orbital volume within the 3 groups. The mean difference between the contralateral and the operated orbit was 3.05 cm3, 3.72 cm3, and 1.47 cm3 for NAV, CBCT, and NAV-CBCT, respectively, where only NAV-CBCT showed a significant smaller volumetric difference in comparison to CBCT alone. Gender or age did not correlate with difference in orbital volume. Normal function and aesthetics was seen at 6 weeks postoperative in 0 of 3, 6of 6, and 6 of 13 patients of the NAV, CBCT, and NAV-CBCT, respectively. Conclusion: Orbital defects can be treated effectively using IO navigation. Although our data could not demonstrate a significant added value of IO-CBCT in cases where IO navigation was used based on volumetric difference alone, the combination of IO-CBCT and IO navigation seems to give the best results considering both volumetric difference and postoperative function and aesthetics. Confirmation in a prospective, randomized trial with a larger sample size is required.