Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 3, 2025
08:01
Designing CAD/CAM Surgical Guides for Maxillary Reconstruction Using an In-house Approach
Published on: August 24, 2018
9.0K
Maxillectomy Guided by 3D Printing Versus Conventional Surgery for Patients with Head and Neck Cancer
Sung Yool Park1, Sung Ha Jung2, Anna Seo3
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, Busan Paik Hospital, Inje University, Busan 47392, Republic of Korea.
Cancers
|January 11, 2025
Summary
Three-dimensional (3D) printing-guided maxillectomy shows potential for improving surgical precision and local control in head and neck cancer. While not statistically significant, the 3D printing group demonstrated better resection margins and survival trends.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Surgical Innovation
- Medical Engineering
Background:
- Head and neck cancers often require complex surgical resection, such as maxillectomy.
- Conventional maxillectomy techniques can present challenges in achieving optimal surgical precision and oncological outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of three-dimensional (3D) printing-guided maxillectomy versus conventional maxillectomy.
- To compare surgical precision and oncological outcomes in patients with head and neck cancer.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 42 patients undergoing maxillectomy.
- Comparison between a 3D printing-guided group (16 patients) and a conventional group (26 patients).
- Analysis of patient demographics, tumor characteristics, resection margins, and survival outcomes using Kaplan-Meier method.
Main Results:
- The 3D printing group exhibited higher rates of negative resection margins (81.3% vs. 76.9%).
- A trend towards improved 5-year local recurrence-free survival (87.5% vs. 58.7%) and overall survival (84.4% vs. 70.1%) was observed in the 3D printing group.
- These differences did not reach statistical significance.
Conclusions:
- Three-dimensional (3D) printing-guided maxillectomy may enhance surgical precision and local control in head and neck cancer surgery.
- Further research with larger patient cohorts is warranted to validate these preliminary findings.
