Peer-reviewed article
Use of a 3-Dimensional Printed Model of Congenital Aural Atresia for Family Surgical Counseling.
Ina Lee, Shreyas Krishnapura, Brenton Griffith, Marc Bennett, Sumit Pruthi et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This peer-reviewed study evaluated whether a 3D-printed skull model helps families understand congenital aural atresia (a birth condition affecting ear development) during surgical counseling. Twenty-three families with affected children were shown a custom transparent model during counseling sessions. Families reported high satisfaction with the model, finding it helpful for understanding anatomy, surgical goals, and risks. The authors conclude that 3D-printed anatomical models could improve surgical counseling for this condition.
Key points
- Families rated the 3D model highly for helping understand congenital aural atresia anatomy (4.7/5)
- Families strongly agreed the model helped them understand surgical repair goals (4.7/5) and risks (4.6/5)
- Model use increased families' comfort with treatment decision-making (4.7/5)
- Most families used online resources (57%) and doctor visits (83%) to learn about the condition
Limitations
This study measures only parental/caregiver perceptions of a counseling tool, not actual clinical outcomes, surgical success rates, or whether the model improved decision-making in practice. The sample is small (23 families) and the study does not include a comparison group without the model to establish its added value.
Abstract
ObjectiveTo evaluate patients' and caregivers' perceived benefit of using a custom 3-dimensional (3D)-printed transparent model of a skull with unilateral congenital aural atresia as a tool for surgical counseling.DesignProspective study.SettingTertiary academic children's hospital.Patients/ParticipantsTwenty-three families with children with congenital aural atresia.InterventionsA custom 3D-printed skull model was created from a computed tomography scan of a 5-year-old male patient with right unilateral congenital aural atresia, using transparent VEROCLEAR for bone and contrasting colors for the facial nerve, auditory ossicles, and bony labyrinth. This 3D model was used during standardized counseling about congenital aural atresia. Families were surveyed regarding their understanding of congenital aural atresia and their impressions of the model.Main Outcome MeasuresScale of 1 to 5 (strongly disagree to strongly agree) regarding utility of the 3D model.ResultsResources used most by families to learn about congenital aural atresia were online (57%) and doctor's visits (83%). Families strongly agreed that having a 3D model made it easier to understand the anatomy of congenital aural atresia (4.7/5, SD 0.5), the goals of surgical repair (4.7/5, SD 0.7), and the risks of atresiaplasty surgery (4.6/5, SD 0.6). Model use also increased reported comfort level with treatment decision-making (4.7/5, SD 0.6).ConclusionA novel, transparent 3D-printed model of congenital aural atresia that allows patients and families to visualize and physically interact with complex temporal bone anatomy could be a valuable, effective, and readily available tool to improve patient surgical counseling.