Facial surgery (手术) is a serious business, especially on children     1     are not yet fully grown but Melbourne researchers are developing a technique that could change the face of children’s surgery.

This new     2     (develop) will allow doctors to work out a child’s normal face shape at different ages to predict (预测) future growth.

Researchers at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) could soon replace the ruler currently     3     (use) to track changes in a child’s head and face with 3D images. By     4     (improve) the ability to predict normal growth and future changes in a child’s face, doctors will be able to    5     (well) complete their surgery than before.

MCRI’s Mr Harold Matthews said current     6     (method), including using patients’ photographs and X-rays were slow. Together     7     researchers in Belgium, Mr Matthews is pioneering a new tool that provides averages (平均值) for normal growth of the face throughout childhood.

The project intends     8     (take) some of the guesswork out of surgery. For example, in children with Pierre Robin Sequence, a serious condition which means they are born with an underdeveloped jaw(下颚), some doctors choose to fix it early while others wait to see if the child’s face will     9     (natural) correct itself as it grows. Without this new technology,     10     is difficult to know which method is better for each child.