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Complications avoided So far, the team has used such livers in about 30 cases. In a few operations so far, surgeons changed their plan for the surgery based on the simulated organs, for instance, after realizing that cancerous liver tumors were too close to certain veins to completely cut the growths out. "We believe we actually avoided some complications this way," Zein said. The researchers are now developing similar methods to guide complicated surgeries, such as hand and face transplants, and pancreatic tumor removals, Zein said. They are also investigating a way to integrate organ models into the global positioning systems (GPS) that currently guide surgeries. These GPS tools determine the exact location to cut and the safe margins for a surgery. By improving the models of the organs that these systems use, the hope is that the GPS will become even more accurate, Zein said.
SUMMARY 3D printing helps to guide surgeons during tricky procedures and it prevent complications when performing transplants or removing cancerous tumors. This new method could be used to train medical students in the techniques needed for surgery. Using these models, surgeons can create the 3D-printed organs that are anatomically accurate in terms of volume and location of vessels. Surgeons are changing their plan for the surgery based on the simulated organs.