To begin, launch the SolidWorks software to create a one-millimeter thick plane from the piriform aperture towards the infra-zygomatic crest. Now open the Insert menu, then click on Reference Geometry and Plane options. From the osteotomy plane, select three feature points and click OK to create the O1 plane.
Navigate to the plane again by clicking on Insert and Reference Geometry. This time, choose the osteotomy plane and set an offset distance of one millimeter. Click OK to create a lower cutting plane marked O2.Now navigate to split by selecting Insert, followed by Features, and choose the O1 and O2 planes in Trim Tools.
Select the target bodies and press Cut Bodies to create a cutting preview. Next, tick the check boxes in the Resulting Bodies section and press OK to separate the maxillary complex. Then click on the body between the O1 and O2 planes, right-click, and press Delete under the Body section.
To export the models with different buccal osteotomy angles, first click on File, then Save As, and choose Parasolid x_t from the file type list. Finally, click Save to export the models for finite element analysis software. The demonstrated analysis used the cone-beam computed tomography image of a 47-year-old female with maxillary deficiency to generate a model.
For accurate surgery simulation, the nasal septum, lateral nasal cavity walls, and pterygomaxillary fissure were separated.
