Virtual Surgery

The Virtual Surgery team is completing digital modules of nine craniofacial surgical procedures. This compendium of procedures will allow a surgeon to learn, test, and master reconstructive procedures before operating on a child’s face. An Interactive Craniofacial Surgical Atlas will combine surgical footage, interactive animated 3D complex open surgical procedures, and voiceover, providing the new paradigm in surgical instruction. A Cleft Lip & Palate DVD, made in 2008, is also shown to families at cleft clinics to help them visualize their child’s upcoming procedure.

Laboratory and Translational Investigation

In order to improve the outcome of treatment procedures and find new, less invasive methods, the IRPS’s biological/microsurgical research team is studying 1) the use of a novel stem cell medication to accelerate the bone-healing process after surgery, 2) improvement of bone implantation to treat Cleft Lip and/or Palate,  and 3) the use of fat grafting to treat Soft Tissue Deficiencies. Clinical research includes 1) craniofacial morphology in patients with Treacher Collins syndrome, 2) soft tissue profile changes following distraction in patients with syndromic craniosynostosis, 3) secondary corrective surgery in patients who had early LeFort III surgery, and 4) mandibular asymmetry in untreated patients with Craniofacial Microsomia.