Creazione di modelli virtuali 3D da immagini TC e RM per la pianificazione degli interventi chirurgici in Chirurgia Pediatrica

BACKGROUND. The development of advanced medical imaging systems led to a new scientific discipline known as medical imaging. the main gol of this branch is to obtain three-dimensional information on human body organs through non-invasive methods. In tha last 10 years, many programs, that create images with 3D resolution following 2D images obtained by TC (Computer Tomography) and MRI (Magnetic Resonance) in patients with cancer or congenital malformation, have been developed. The 3D reconstructions find their main application in diagnose and plan surgical treatment in terms of approach type, choice of material, choice of the most suitable technique, safeguarding nearby structures. MATERIALS and METHODS. During the 3-year of study, 40 patients, 13 females and 27 males, aged 6 months to 17, were included in the study. They were subdivided into 3 groups based on the pathology: malformative (29/40), tumor (7/40) and others (4/40). All patients underwent TC or MRI. Based on CT or MRI images, 3D reconstruction was carried out with the Vr Render 0.81 program. All 40 children underwent surgery. All imaging have been discussed between pediatric surgeon and radiologist to plan surgical strategy. We do not report intraoperative complications or discrepancies between the 3D reconstruction and the real anatomy of the patient. CONCLUSION. After retrospective analysis of our study, we can conclude that 3D reconstruction allows to better plan surgery of tumor and malformative pathologies. The Vr Render program guarantees to have a correct definition of the size of the pathology, its location and its relationships with nearby structures. The multidisciplinary team (Pediatric Surgeon and the Radiologist) has been Important for the management of complex pathologies. The future of 3D rendering is certainly a major application in surgical planning and training of young surgeons. [edited by author]