Virtual Reality for Preoperative Planning in Complex Surgical Oncology: A Single-Center Experience

Area of Science:

• Medical imaging and simulation
• Surgical oncology
• Virtual reality applications in medicine

Background:

• Virtual reality models (VRM) offer 3D simulations from 2D images for improved patient-specific anatomical understanding.
• Complex oncologic resections often present challenges in preoperative planning using conventional 2D imaging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility and impact of virtual reality modeling (VRM) on preoperative planning for complex oncologic resections.
• To compare the accuracy and surgeon confidence of operative plans generated using VRM versus standard 2D imaging.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 7 patients undergoing complex oncologic resections with VRM compared to operative outcomes.
• Prospective enrollment of 13 patients undergoing complex oncologic resections, with preoperative planning using both 2D imaging and VRM.
• Comparison of operative plans, concordance with final surgery, and surgeon confidence levels between 2D imaging and VRM.

Main Results:

• VRM creation was successful in 86% of retrospective cases and 100% of prospective cases.
• VRM improved the definition of resection extent in 50% of successful retrospective cases.
• Concordance of operative plans with actual surgery was significantly higher with VRM (92% operating surgeon, 69% consulting surgeon) compared to 2D imaging (54% operating surgeon, 23% consulting surgeon).
• Surgeon confidence in the operative plan increased by 15% (operating) and 8% (consulting) after using VRM.

Conclusions:

• Virtual reality modeling is a feasible technology for enhancing preoperative planning in complex oncologic surgeries.
• VRM demonstrates potential to improve the accuracy of surgical plans and increase surgeon confidence compared to 2D imaging.
• Further research is warranted to explore the full clinical utility of VRM in surgical oncology.