Postoperative volume increase of facial soft tissue after percutaneous versus endonasal osteotomy technique in rhinoplasty using 3D stereophotogrammetry.

BACKGROUND: When lateral osteotomies are performed as part of a rhinoplasty, the nose and paranasal region invariably change in three dimensions. The PURPOSE of this study is to compare the effect of the percutaneous perforating and endonasal continuous osteotomy techniques concerning the degree of postoperative swelling using three dimensional (3D) stereophotogrammetry.

METHODOLOGY: A prospective follow-up study was conducted. Patients requiring bilateral osteotomies were included and randomly underwent a percutaneous osteotomy on one side and an endonasal osteotomy on the other side. Pre- and postoperative 3D photos were acquired using 3D stereophotogrammetry. Volumetric measurement data were acquired from the paranasal region using 3D software. Measurements were compared using Student`s t-test and Wilcoxon signed rank test statistics.

RESULTS: Twenty patients were included. A percutaneous osteotomy was performed on the right side in nine patients and on the left side in 11 patients. The total volume, the volume of the right paranasal and left paranasal region were significantly larger postoperative. No difference was found between the sides.

CONCLUSIONS: No difference concerning swelling is found between the percutaneous and endonasal osteotomy technique sides. With 3D stereophotogrammetry volumetric data can be acquired and compared to evaluate soft-tissue changes.