Thoracic 3D Printing

3D printing is modifying our age-old notions of what can and can’t be made. With 3D printing, we can actually create structures that are more intricate than any other manufacturing technology, or in fact are impossible to create in any other way (Harouni, A primer on 3D printing. TED Talks, 2012). Spawned by these possibilities in health care facilities and lower price points for hardware, the last decade has seen a significant increase in the medical applications. These include orthopedic, craniomaxillofacial, and cardiovascular surgeries. Its use in other thoracic pathologies has been studied and evaluated by many researchers and cardiothoracic surgeons but has not yet been well established in mainstream clinical practice (Wu et al. J Thorac Dis 10:6880, 2018). 3D printed anatomic models can provide excellent spatial information and characterization of various thoracic pathologies in relation to their surrounding vital structures. By virtue of this, evidence-based studies have proved the efficacy of 3D printing not only in pre-surgical assessment and planning, decision making for the optimal treatment approach, and resident/trainee teaching but also in patient education, counseling, and consenting (Fu et al. Thoracic Cancer 11(9):2690–2697, 2020; Smelt et al. Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 68:352–356, 2019).