A preliminary study of facial soft tissue thickness for forensic facial reconstruction in a Nigerian adult female community.

Forensic facial reconstruction is the reproduction of a deceased person's antemortem face, most commonly achieved using population-based data of facial soft tissue thickness. Facial soft tissue thickness (FSTT) data have been documented for many populations. However, there are no published data for Nigerian female adults. This study measured the facial soft tissue thickness of 32 subjects based on computed tomography scans. Measurements were taken from 50 facial soft tissue thickness points, including 12 mid-sagittal and 19 bilateral (right and left) points, across a diverse age range of 18 to 95 years. The Nigerian female adult consistently shows marginal increase in soft tissue thickness on the left side of the face when compared with the right, with the greatest relative difference at the zygomatic arch and mid-lateral orbit. When compared with the published data of populations in South Africa, Turkey, Korea, and Belgium, there were similarities at the midline but appreciable differences at the lip and chin regions. The right side of the face of the Nigerian female adults was also compared with other populations; the differences at the lateral side of the face were greater than the midline differences. These differences reflects the greater thickness of bilateral soft tissue. This study demonstrates that although the data between different populations are similar, there are still measurable differences at several points. This new dataset will be most applicable for forensic facial reconstruction in Nigerian female adults.