Researchers at Asan Medical Center have developed a method of using 3D printing technology to reduce the operation time and increase the success rate of thoracic aortic replacement surgery.

An aortic aneurysm is a severe disease in which blood vessels inflate and burst like a balloon as the aorta walls weaken. Hospitals use thoracic aortic replacement to treat a thoracic-abdominal aortic aneurysm, which occurs extensively across the chest and abdomen by replacing the aortic aneurysm site with an artificial blood vessel.

However, aortic replacement surgery performed on patients with thoracic-abdominal aortic aneurysms is a complex and difficult operation. It requires a large incision from the chest to the abdomen and operates the cardiopulmonary system to maintain blood flow to major organs and tissues. The operation time is very long. It is a high-risk operation that places a heavy burden on both the surgeon and the patient due to the high frequency of surgical mortality and permanent complications.

In the past, hospitals conducted aortic replacement surgery to reconstruct an artificial blood vessel in preparation for surgery and replace it immediately during surgery. However, as surgeons had to cut and process the artificial blood vessel with the naked eye during the operation, there was a limit to the accuracy. Therefore, it was difficult to apply it to a high-level operation.

To resolve this problem, the team, led by Professor Kim Jun-beom of the Department of Thoracic Surgery at the hospital, has been working with Anymedi Solutions to introduce 3D printing technology for the surgery since 2017.

Using this method, the team created a 3D model of a patient-specific artificial blood vessel that precisely reflected the location and anatomical shape of the blood vessel two to three weeks before surgery and used it as a surgical guide.

An analysis of patients who underwent surgery using a 3D printed surgical guide showed no postoperative death and no permanent neurological impairment in 95 percent of patients.

Also, the team confirmed that they could reduce the time required for surgery by more than half to an average of 7 hours and the time needed to operate the cardiopulmonary system during surgery down under an hour, reducing the burden on patients.

“As a result of applying 3D printing technology to difficult thoracic-abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery, the team was able to significantly improve surgical efficiency, increasing the surgical concentration and safety,” Professor Kim said. “The team expects that it will be of great help to critically ill patients by expanding the scope of application of 3D printers in the future.”

The results of the research were published in the Seminars in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.