• M L Smith, J McGuinness, M K O'Reilly, L Nolke, J G Murray, and Jones J F X JFX Discipline of Anatomy, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland..
• Discipline of Anatomy, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland. drmichellelouisesmith@gmail.com.
• Ir J Med Sci. 2017 Aug 1; 186 (3): 753-756.

BackgroundThe presence of a structural cardiac defect in the setting of dextrocardia is extremely rare. Graspable models allow enhanced appreciation of aberrant structures and vascular relations, particularly in rare and complex cases. This is the first case report of the use of a replica of a patients' anatomy to plan the surgical strategy in the setting of dextrocardia.AimsWe intend to demonstrate the benefit of three-dimensional printing to enhance preoperative planning in complex congenital heart disease undergoing heart transplantation. The anomalous structures encountered include situs inversus dextrocardia, transposition of the great vessels, a single atrium and a dilated double-outlet single right ventricle.MethodsComputed Tomography acquisition was performed with the use of ECG multiphase gating technology and contrast enhancement. The structures of interest were segmented and the generated 3D mesh was exported as a stereolithographic (STL) file. The model was printed on a Z-Corp 250 binder jetting printer. Post processing techniques were used to enhance model strength.ResultsPre-operative 3D visualisation of the patients' anatomy allowed for a more comprehensive surgical strategy to be planned, thus reducing the intra-operative duration and cross-clamp time which are recognised to correlate with reduced patient morbidity.ConclusionThe ongoing advances in medical image procurement and 3D processing software and printing technology will continue to enhance preoperative planning and thereby improve patient care. We demonstrate the pivotal role played by such technologies in advancing spatial comprehension of complex aberrant anatomy.

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