Comparison of CT and three-dimensional imaging in preoperative planning for liver tumors

The authors have manually reconstructed three-dimensional (3D) images in 10 patients with liver masses. Axial CT and 3D images were reviewed by two surgeons. The 3D images allowed better localization of the masses in all cases for surgeon A, and in eight cases for surgeon B. This produced changes in preoperative planning in five and four cases, respectively. Drawbacks were inability to reconstruct more than two structures at a time, lack of real-time rotation, and prolonged reconstruction process. The authors conclude that 3D imaging has potential for planning resection of liver tumor, allowing surgeons to better understand lesion location and, therefore, resectability