3D printing in constrictive pericarditis assessment

Constrictive pericarditis is a rare disease, often diagnosed belatedly. Radical pericardiectomy is the recommended procedure in cases of constrictive pericarditis, although it is a complex and time-consuming surgery. These aspects make 3D printing potentially valuable in surgical planning, allowing the healthcare team to study a printed model for better comprehension of the surgical area and more efficient planning. Studies have also shown satisfactory results in medical education, particularly in anatomy, with reports of high fidelity anatomical models, including those with congenital heart defects. However, until now, there have been no reports of using 3D cardiac printing for surgical guidance or teaching about constrictive pericarditis. Therefore, based on a severe case of constrictive pericarditis in a patient, we evaluated the extent of pericardial removal during total pericardiectomy using 3D printing. We used the 3D printed model to educate undergraduate and postgraduate cardiovascular science students about constrictive pericarditis and to explain how the radical pericardiectomy procedure is performed. This report aims to demonstrate the use of 3D printing in medical education for cases of constrictive pericarditis and to show the potential use of these models in the surgical planning of radical pericardiectomy. (author)