Case Studies
Facial Nerve Preservation
The model on the left shows a 38year old woman who we recently treated. She has a benign tumour in the right parotid gland. The gland is shown as a transparent blue structure with the tumour seen in solid green. The model shows the facial nerve, in yellow, as it has been displaced caudally by the tumour. We classically add the digastric muscle (in brown) in the models as it is an important landmark during surgery.
The model on the right shows a parotid tumour in another patient. In this case the tumour is small but sits just below the inferior branch of the facial nerve.
Minimally Invasive Parathyroid Adenectomy
3D models allow accurate localisation of an adenoma relative to local anatomy. Studies have show the application of these models has been shown to reduce surgeon’s workload and improve patient satisfaction.
Complex tumour resection
This is the case of a young man of 46. He has a tumour near the skull base. We would classically use sectional imaging to make the decision on whether the tumour is resectable. However, seeing the tumour in 3D on this model, makes the decision easier. In this case, it gave the whole surgical team confident to take on this case.
Large Tumour
This model shows a large recurrent tumour with multiple significant structures in proximity. The facial nerve (yellow) is deep within the parotid gland. The branches of external carotid artery are shown in red.
Submandibular gland
This is a case of a large tumour arising from the submandibular gland in a 17year old girl. The marginal mandibular branch of the facial nerve (yellow)can be seen clearly in relation to the mandible and facial artery (red). This helped us anticipate its anatomical location and ensure preservation during surgery.
