🔍 Exploring the Workflow of Complex Surgical Reconstruction 🔍
In this post, we dive deep into the meticulous workflow followed for a complex surgical reconstruction of a child's nose. From initial planning to execution, discover the innovative and detailed steps taken by our expert team to ensure a successful outcome.
The case involves a 5-year-old child with a complete absence of the nose. The surgical intervention utilized autologous cartilage tissue, meticulously shaped to reconstruct the nose's framework, which was then covered with autologous epithelial tissue to achieve the final result.
The young patient had a twin brother, providing a sound reference for the shape of the missing nose. Surgery was digitally planned using a 3D scan of the twin brother's face and physically simulated with anatomical replicas fabricated by T3Ddy.
The Steps:
1) 3D Scan of the Twin Brother’s Face: Using an optical scanner, the shape of the brother’s face was digitized for reference.
2) CT Scan of the Patient: A CT scan was used to extract the shape of the skull bone and the patient's face.
3) Alignment: The 3D scan of the brother was aligned with the 3D models of the bone and patient's face to obtain the missing data in the nasal region (depicted in blue in the figure).
4) Digital Surgery Planning: Digital models were used to plan the surgery. A skin thickness allowed to identify the required cartilage structure, composed of simple elements to be shaped manually by the surgeon and sewn together.
5) Patient-Specific Simulator: A dedicated simulator was fabricated using a mix of hard and soft materials, leveraging T3Ddy's expertise and advanced 3D printing technologies.
6) Simulation: The surgeon simulated the intervention, covering the initial incision, construction of the cartilage skeleton, placing of the cartilage, and cutting a skin patch to close the region. This simulation provided haptic feedback and validated the planned approach.
7) Thermoformed Sheet Check: A transparent sheet representing the twin brother's shape was used to compare the reconstructed nose shape to the desired one, allowing the surgeon to observe and evaluate any mismatches.
8) Surgery: The surgery was performed with a positive outcome, as confirmed by the parents' feedback to the hospital and newspapers.
#T3DdyLab #SurgicalReconstruction #MedicalInnovation #HealthcareExcellence Fondazione Ospedale Pediatrico Meyer
