Three-dimensional printing and hepatobiliary surgery

Abstract This chapter describes the relationship between three-dimensional (3D) printing technology and liver surgery. In the last several years, 3D printing has been introduced in the domain of surgical specialties, following its long-lasting application in the manufacturing industry. 3D printing is an emerging technological achievement that could be deployed for a variety of applications in many medical fields, such as preoperative planning, education and training, intraoperative assessment, postoperative evaluation, and patient and family counseling. The 3D-printed liver models produced in this manner constitute extremely accurate reproductions of the liver anatomy and represent to a high degree the precise hepatic network and interactions. This state-of-the-art technology contributes to the resolution of drawbacks that conventional imaging methods (such as computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging) present. Addressing limitations such as cost and time could be feasible in the near future, thus creating great expectations for the clinical use of 3D printing technique in liver surgery.