Review Article   

The Journal of Cardiovascular Surgery 2022 Jul 13

DOI: 10.23736/S0021-9509.22.12407-9

Copyright © 2022 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

3D printing in aortic endovascular therapies: a review

Mitchell J. GEORGE ¹ ✉, Marina DIAS-NETO ¹, Emanuel RAMOS TENORIO ¹, Max A. SKIBBER ¹, Jonathan M. MORRIS ², Gustavo S. ODERICH ¹

¹ Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), Houston, TX, USA; ² Unit of Anatomic Modeling, Division of Neuroradiology, Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

INTRODUCTION: Endovascular treatment of aortic disease, including aneurysm or dissection, is expanding at a rapid pace. Often, the specific patient anatomy in these cases is complex. Additive manufacturing, also known as three-dimensional (3D) printing, is especially useful in the treatment of aortic disease, due to its ability to manufacture physical models of complex patient anatomy.
EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: Compared to other surgical procedures, endovascular aortic repair can readily exploit the advantages of 3D printing with regard to operative planning and preoperative training.
EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: To date, there have been numerous uses of 3D printing in the treatment of aortic pathology as an adjunct in presurgical planning and as a basis for training modules for fellows and residents.
CONCLUSIONS: In this review, we summarize the current uses of 3D printing in the endovascular management of aortic disease. We also review the process of producing these models, the limitations of their applications, and future directions of 3D printing in this field.

KEY WORDS: 3D printed aortic model; Additive manufacturing; Endovascular therapies