Dr. Horacio Questa & Dra. MarÃa Teresa GarcÃa de Dávila
Fundación Garrahan - Buenos Aires, Argentina
Benefits
✔ Provides more precise details of the region to be operated on.
✔ Provides greater understanding of the anatomy of the lesion
✔ Allows for the design of the surgical plan
✔ Allows for shorter operating room time
✔ Provides greater safety for the surgical team
✔ Facilitates the patient's understanding of the characteristics of the lesion
✔ Provides increased safety for the patient
✔ Provides guidance in the surgical approach in the operating room
✔ Provides a better understanding of the characteristics of the lesion by the patient
✔ Provides greater patient safety
Clinical case
An overweight 9-year-old girl with no history of disease presented with episodes of abdominal pain. The patient had ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging, which showed an abnormal mass in the pancreatic body dilating the duct of Wirsung.
A solid-cystic tumour, known as Frantz's tumour, was suspected. This neoplasm has low malignancy but requires total excision as it presents high local recurrence.
Thus, the medical team requested an angiotomography to see the exact relationship of the tumour with the vessels of the celiac and splenoportal trunk. From this imaging study it was concluded that the celiac trunk and the splenic artery were very close to the tumour, but fundamentally the junction of the splenic vein, in the spleno-portal confluent, were in intimate contact with the tumour.
3D anatomical model
â—¾ FDM technology
â—¾ Material: PLA
â—¾ Resolution: 0.2 mm
â—¾ Finish: Multiple colors
Surgical plan and results in the operating room
The acquisition of the model gave clarity to the real situation: the tumour was not in intimate contact with or invading the spleno-portal trunk.
This finding gave them the possibility to consider a more conservative surgical approach. The surgical plan chosen was to perform a corporocaudal pancreatectomy with preservation of the spleen and without the need to implement a vascular reconstruction that would require much more complexity.
The model showed the possibility of resecting the tumour and dissecting it together with the pancreatic parenchyma from the splenoportal axis, preserving the spleen and the head of the pancreas.
Testimony
"The 3D model allows us to define far beyond the images, the anatomy of the particular lesion, providing details that the images may not discriminate. This translates into greater safety for the surgeon which, in turn, translates into safety for the patient."
Do you want to know more about other applications in general surgery?: "What benefits do 3D technologies offer for resecting tumours in the pancreas?". At the Pueyrredón Clinic in Mar del Plata, Dr. Federico Waltar GarcÃa uses virtual anatomical models to improve his surgical results in pancreas.