Facial reconstruction: utilization of computerized tomography to measure facial tissue thickness in a mixed racial population.

Reconstruction of human faces on skeletal remains is dependent on the facial tissue thickness measurements most of which have been derived from cadaver material using the needle probe technique. Dehydration of soft tissue after death casts doubt on the efficacy of these measurements. No study exists in which the facial tissues of a mixed population group in South Africa have been measured. The utilization of computerized tomography to measure facial tissue thickness as an adjunct to scans for facial sinus disease was employed and allowed the measurement of the thickness of facial soft tissues according to Rhine and Campbell (J. Forensic Sci. 1980: 25; 847-858). The sample consisted of 32 patients, 16 M and 16 F, age range 12 to 71 years. Comparison between the facial tissue thickness of American whites and blacks with South Africans of mixed racial origin showed marked differences in certain anatomical areas. The faces of the blacks were thicker in most areas, those of the whites were thicker in the forehead and periocular area, but thinner in the perioral and gonial areas. It is concluded that the use of the computerized tomography scanning procedure to measure soft tissue depth is more accurate than the needle probe technique. The results obtained from this study are therefore representative of the variation in facial tissue thickness of South Africans of mixed racial origin for facial reconstruction purposes.