In clinical practice, preservation of the anus and reconstruction of the digestive tract have consistently been pivotal aspects of RC surgery. With the advancement and implementation of neoadjuvant therapy, total neoadjuvant therapy, anal preservation techniques (ISR, TaTME), and minimally invasive techniques, the rate of organ preservation is improving gradually[5, 24]. However, AL as a common and serious postoperative complication, has become a major concern for surgeons. Further studies have found that preserving the LCA can increase blood supply to the anastomosis and reduce the risk of AL. However, the LCA exhibits a high rate of anatomical variation, posing significant challenges in surgical procedures. The preoperative identification of the location and variations of the LCA are therefore critical. There are four common types of anatomical variations of the IMA. In Type I, the LCA branches off from the IMA early and separately, followed by the SA and SRA branching together from the IMA. In type II, the LCA and SA initially branch together from the IMA, then after traveling a certain distance, the LCA branches off separately from their common trunk. And the SRA branches off independently from the IMA. In type III, In Type III, the LCA, SA, and SRA branch together from the IMA. In type IV, LCA is absence, with only SA and SRA[10, 13]. Preoperative identification of the IMA types and LCA anatomical variations is crucial for the successful completion of laparoscopic RC resection with LCA preservation. In this article, we propose utilizing 3D printing technology to preoperatively identify IMA types and LCA anatomical variations and to conduct preoperative rehearsals. During surgery, the 3D model serves as a navigational aid, thereby reducing the difficulty of LCA-preserving procedures. According to the result, operating time (196.7 ± 44.5 min in observe group vs. 233.3 ± 44.3 min in control group, p < 0.001) and intraoperative blood loss (43.9 ± 31.3 mL in observe group vs. 58.2 ± 30.8 ml in control group, p < 0.005) were significantly lower in 3D printing group than in control group. Therefore, the present 3D printed model can reduce surgical complexity and enhance operative safety. Some researchers have also suggested that the utilization of 3D printing models could enhance the comprehension and assessment of blood vessels, thereby effectively mitigating intraoperative hemorrhage. This notion is consistent with the findings of our study[23, 25].
Although contrast-enhanced CT scan can detect the LCA, it is difficult for surgeons to mentally visualize in the form of accurate 3D images. Furthermore, it is easy to forget the specific location of the LCA based on CT scans because surgeons tend to direct their focus to the surgical procedure being carried out. In this study, we 3D-printed accurate IMA models before surgery and placed the 3D models next to the laparoscopic television monitor during the operation. This enabled the LCA to be readily identified by comparing the anatomical features of the IMA with the 3D model during the surgical procedure. The IMA model was precisely 3D printed at a 1:1 scale. During surgery, we measured and compared the size of the 3D model with the actual vascular anatomy of the patients using aseptic silk, and found the differences to be negligible. Consequently, the IMA model holds greater potential for clinical application.
In this study, we found that the duration of hospitalization (14.3 ± 5.1 vs. 18.7 ± 9.2 days p < 0.001), postoperative recovery time (9.1 ± 5.1 vs. 11.9 ± 7.1 days p < 0.007), and cost (35.1 ± 5.9 vs. 40.1 ± 10.1, p < 0.05) for the observe group were significantly lower than for the control cohort. Identification of the location of LCA and IMA branches before operation allows the surgeon to formulate a personalized and specific surgical plan, avoid excessive traction of the LCA during surgery, and reduce the thermal injury to the LCA from the ultrasonic and electric scalpels, in accordance with the concept of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS)[26]. However, we acknowledge that there may be some biases in our results. With ongoing healthcare reforms, the centralized procurement of drugs and medical devices has reduced hospitalization costs, and the implementation of pre-admission protocols has shortened hospital stays. Most of the cases in our 3D printing group were enrolled in recent years, which could introduce some inaccuracies in our analysis. Therefore, we plan to conduct a randomized controlled clinical trial in the future to further investigate this issue. However, we acknowledge that there may be some biases in our results. Recent healthcare reforms, including the centralized procurement of drugs and medical devices, have reduced hospitalization costs. And the implementation of the pre-admission system has shortened hospital stays. As most of the cases in our 3D printing group were enrolled in recent years, this could introduce some inaccuracies in our analysis. Furthermore, our analysis did not reveal a significant reduction in the incidence of postoperative complications (AL and intestinal obstruction) in observe group, which can be attributed to the limited sample size across the included studies. In this study, we only collected AL and postoperative intestinal obstruction as indicators of postoperative complications, neglecting other complications such as pneumonia, deep vein thrombosis, gastroparesis, and wound infection et al. Therefore, we plan to conduct a prospective randomized controlled clinical trial in the future to further investigate those questions.
During the course of our study, we found that the 3D IMA model was more useful for less experienced surgeons than experienced surgeons. We speculate that this is because the model might shorten the learning curve for surgeons, although this requires further study. However, this study still has some limitations: (1) this study is a retrospective analysis conducted at a single center with a limited sample size; (2) the printing material is inelastic and cannot be pulled or valgus as in the operation; (3) the models only focus on the branches of IMA and LCA, and other concerns during the operation are not addressed.