Use of Patient-Specific 3D Models in Paediatric Surgery: Effect on Communication and Surgical Management

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Pediatric Oncology
• Surgical Planning

Background:

• Rare tumors and malformations in children pose complex diagnostic and treatment challenges.
• Effective communication with families is crucial for informed consent and shared decision-making.
• Traditional imaging methods may not fully convey the complexity of rare pediatric conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of patient-specific 3D models on family communication regarding rare pediatric tumors and malformations.
• To assess the influence of these 3D models on medical management and surgical planning.
• To establish an efficient post-processing workflow for generating 3D models from MRI data.

Main Methods:

• Prospective study (2021-2024) including pediatric patients (3 months-18 years) with rare tumors or malformations.
• Generation of patient-specific 3D models from MRI sequences, including peripheral nerve tractography.
• Family and physician questionnaires assessed understanding, communication, and clinical decision-making before and after 3D model presentation.

Main Results:

• 21 patients included with diverse diagnoses (tumors, malformations, trauma).
• Significant improvement in family understanding (mean Likert score 3.94 to 4.67) and high overall evaluation (mean 4.61) after viewing 3D models.
• Physicians also reported positive impacts on surgical planning and decision-making.

Conclusions:

• Patient-specific 3D models substantially enhance family communication and support clinical decision-making for children with rare conditions.
• An efficient workflow for 3D model generation was established, though manual reconstruction is time-consuming.
• Development of automated MRI segmentation software using deep neural networks is recommended for routine clinical practice.