Difficult airways: a 3D printing study with virtual fibreoptic endoscopy

Comment on ‘Utilising 3D printing in assessment of anticipated difficult airways’: a response

“…Clinical applications of three-dimensional (3D) modelling are rapidly evolving, with new materials and printing methods such as those we describe becoming more accessible to clinicians [3]. We agree that combined with modalities such as virtual reality (VR) and video-endoscopy (VE) this is an exciting progressive space within the field of anaesthesia [4,5].…”

Comment on ‘Utilising 3D printing in assessment of anticipated difficult airways’

“…We were surprised to find that there was no citation referencing our previously published article describing this method, in an otherwise comprehensive literature review. Thus, we would like to take this opportunity to draw readers' attention to our paper entitled `Difficult airways: a 3D printing study with virtual fibreoptic endoscopy´published in The British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery [2].…”

“…In our paper, we describe the utility of combining virtual endoscopy with three-dimensional printed models to provide a more accurate assessment of the airway anatomy in patients with predicted difficult airway management, such as those with head and neck disease. By utilising these methods, we were able to anticipate critical steps, adjust our airway plan accordingly and consequently formulate an optimal airway management strategy [2].…”

“…We thank Iliff and colleagues for drawing attention to this approach [1], and hope that readers benefit from reading our publication [2].…”

Establishing a point-of-care additive manufacturing workflow for clinical use

“…Effort was placed into developing a low-cost simulation model, and is now widely utilized for education, among other dissection models for both adult and pediatric populations [ 72 – 74 ]. Applications remain in outlining difficult airways for unique intubation approaches for challenging oropharyngeal, laryngeal, and hypopharyngeal tumors [ 75 ], nasal and paranasal sinus pathology [ 76 ], and still others are utilizing preoperative simulations to assists in other orthognathic surgery [ 77 ]. Printing for temporomandibular joint reconstruction with customized accurate anatomical spacers that allowed for impregnation with antibiotics, is just another way 3-D-printed models are further advancing the field [ 78 ].…”