Surgical Planning of Ballistic Facial Injuries

Ballistic facial injuries often cause widespread damage, distorting the native anatomy. Apart from initial resuscitative measures, these injuries require extensive employment of reconstructive techniques to restore the patient’s form and function. As such, thoughtful data acquisition from both physical exam and radiographic studies optimizes surgical planning to achieve optimal patient outcomes. Specifically, virtual surgical planning has been shown to decrease intraoperative times and achieve enhanced functional and aesthetic outcomes when compared to traditional methods. The purpose of this chapter is to review surgical planning in the context of ballistic facial injuries, with a specific focus on virtual surgical planning.