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Summary: MathematicsinFacial
Surgery
Peter Deuflhard, Martin Weiser, and Stefan Zachow
1012 NOTICES OF THE AMS VOLUME 53, NUMBER 9
T
his article deals with the role of mathemat-
ics in cranio-maxillofacial surgery (cranium
= skull, maxilla = upper jaw), a special field
of surgery focusing on patients with malforma-
tions of the upper and/or lower jaws or distinct
bone defects, as shown in Figure 1. Operations in-
clude massive interventions like cutting of bones
or relocation of bone segments up to several cen-
timeters. Needless to say, such operations require
extremely careful planning in advance, which is
where mathematics comes in and, as will be shown,
makes its crucial contribution.
Medical Planning Paradigm. In recent years,
the following four-stage paradigm has crystallized
(for a survey see [3]):
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