title: Novel use of an aerospace selective laser sintering machine for rapid prototyping of an orbital blowout fracture.
abstract: The authors describe the novel use of a selective laser sintering (SLS) machine, commonly used in the aerospace industry, to produce an accurate model of an orbital blowout fracture. Standard stereolithographic apparatus (SLA) technology failed to reproduce either orbital floor of a patient with a blowout fracture. The use of SLS technology using the same CT dataset to produce a superior model, highlights potential limitations of routine SLA technology and the high accuracy of SLS models. A custom-made titanium implant was constructed by hand using the SLS model as a template, it was positioned surgically and the patient's symptoms resolved uneventfully.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Frenchay Hospital, Bristol, BS16 1LE, UK. j.v.williams@doctors.org.uk
authors.forename: J V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Revington
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001860:Bone Plates; D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods; D007834:Lasers; D008297:Male; D008953:Models, Anatomic; D009757:Nylons; D009917:Orbital Fractures / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures; D038161:Snow Sports / Q000293:injuries; D014025:Titanium; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D009757:Nylons; D014025:Titanium