The Use of 3D-printed Anatomical Models in Breast Cancer Surgery and Surgeon Collaboration

Breast cancer poses a great risk to women in the United States, as about 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed within their lifetimes. Currently, 2 major types of surgical treatments exist for breast cancer; a mastectomy, wherein all breast tissue is removed and replaced, and a lumpectomy, in which just the local tumor is removed. However, there are various specific approaches to both, and when breast surgeons are working with their surgical teams on a case, communication is of the utmost importance. Dr. Robert Rehnke, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon, has utilized 3D printed breast models to communicate his novel reconstruction approach; a precision nipple-sparing autologous graft mastectomy. These models have been made by a Ricoh biomedical engineer directly from CT and/or MRI data from the patient being operated on. Dr. Barry Rosen, a breast surgery specialist, has also utilized 3D-printed patient-specific breast models created by Ricoh in his procedural collaborations with plastic surgeons. Overall, there are many utilizations presented by 3D-printed anatomic models in regard to breast cancer surgery.