Role of innovative 3D printing models in the management of hepatobiliary malignancies

Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) printing has recently emerged as a new technique in various liver-related surgical fields. There are currently only a few systematic reviews that summarize the evidence of its impact. In order to construct a systematic literature review of the applications and effects of 3D printing in liver surgery, we searched the PubMed, Embase and ScienceDirect databases for relevant titles, according to the PRISMA statement guidelines. We retrieved 162 titles, of which 32 met the inclusion criteria and are reported. The leading application of 3D printing in liver surgery is for preoperative planning. 3D printing techniques seem to be beneficial for preoperative planning and educational tools, despite their cost and time requirements, but this conclusion must be confirmed by additional randomized controlled trials.

Using virtual 3D-models in surgical planning: workflow of an immersive virtual reality application in liver surgery

“…Until today, there is little literature about the application of VR as a representation modality of 3D models in liver surgery. Most publications describe the representation of such models in preoperative planning by means of 3D PDF or 3D prints [ 4 , 8 ]. The term virtual resection planning is often misleading and usually refers to the ability to draw resection lines on a reconstructed liver with volume calculation.…”

“…To date, these 3D reconstructions are mostly presented as 3D PDFs and only rarely as 3D-printed models. Some publications describe the presentation in preoperative planning by means of a 3D-printed model [4,5] that gives a good impression of tumor location especially in multifocal tumor burden and when vascular invasion with the necessity of reconstruction is suspected [6]. The potential drawback of 3D prints is a time delay for the printing process and higher costs [7].…”

Applications of PLA in modern medicine

“…The profound contributions of this state-of-the-art technology to medicine are tied to its ability to produce a tangible model from a preliminary virtual model [51] . This capability is frequently utilized for pre-operative planning as well as educational purposes [52] . 3D printed organ models aid surgeons develop an effective treatment strategy as the analogs are designed with a morphology and anatomy according to diagnostic images [52] .…”

“…This capability is frequently utilized for pre-operative planning as well as educational purposes [52] . 3D printed organ models aid surgeons develop an effective treatment strategy as the analogs are designed with a morphology and anatomy according to diagnostic images [52] . Device testing and medical training are also well-documented benefits provided through this technique.…”

The three‐dimensional printing renaissance of individualized anatomical modeling: Are we repeating history?

“…Individualized 3D printed models for patient-specific anatomy are often segmented with vibrant colors in order to highlight the visual relationships between vital structures. A potential pitfall of this singular approach to 3D-printed anatomic modeling is the basic philosophy of the construction method:if it looks good, it is good(Bangeas, Tsioukas, Papadopoulos, & Tsoulfas, 2019;Bergquist, Morris, Matsumoto, Schiller, & Kim, 2019;Dickinson et al, 2015;Leng et al, 2017;Martelli et al, 2016). This viewpoint, however, does not consider the function of the structure represented, and may inadvertently provide a misrepresentation of in vivo organiza-…”