Dr. Lucas Rasguido
Centro Urológico Dr. Ricardo Rasguido - San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina
Benefits
✔ Increased understanding of normal and lesion anatomy
✔ Real-time guidance during the surgical approach
✔ Improved patient-physician interaction
✔ Improved patient safety
Clinical case
An adult male patient with no history of disease presented with a tumour in the right kidney.
3D anatomical model
◾ FDM Technology
◾ Material: PLA
◾ Resolution: 0.2 mm
◾ Finish: Multiple color
Surgical plan and results in operating room
In this case, a radical nephrectomy was initially planned because of its proximity to the excretory tract. Having the physical and virtual model of the patient allowed them to better understand the anatomy and location of the renal tumour. Consequently, it gave the surgeons the possibility to try a less invasive approach.
The plan was a transperitoneal laparoscopic right partial nephrectomy. The physical 3D and virtual models were taken to the operating room and were useful as a guide when approaching the tumour.
Do you want to know about other cases of renal tumours? "Surgeries that can't wait: Nephrectomies during the COVID-19 pandemic". 3D models for the treatment of renal incidentalomas, at the Htal. Metropolitano de Quito, Ecuador, where they used this technique to optimise the results of surgery.
In the operating room, the renal tumour was enucleated, and on confirming the negative margins, it was found that the excretory tract had been invaded. Consequently, it was decided to proceed with a laparoscopic radical nephrectomy, which would provide the patient with greater safety for his treatment.
This final decision was inevitable after the intraoperative findings. The model was able to assist in making the surgery safer, and was not able to predict this situation probably because of the delay between the acquisition of the diagnostic images and the date of surgery. The latter is critical for oncological cases where disease progression can occur very quickly.
"3D models are an essential tool in complex cases, didactic and of excellent resolution", says Dr. Rasguido.
On the other hand, it is important to note that the kidney biomodelling allowed them to show and explain to the patient his pathology and the way in which they were going to proceed with it, giving him and his family peace of mind and confidence.