Three-Dimensional Printing in Surgical Education: An Updated Systematic Review of the Literature

Introduction: Three-dimensional printing (3DP) is being integrated into surgical practice at a significant pace, from preprocedural planning to procedure simulation. 3DP is especially useful in surgical education, where printed models are highly accurate and customizable. The aim of this study was to evaluate how 3DP is being integrated most recently into surgical residency training.

Methods: We performed a structured literature search of the OVID/MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PUBMED databases following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines. Articles published from 2016 to 2023 that met predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria were included. Data extracted included surgical subspecialty using 3DP, application of 3DP, and any reported satisfaction measures of trainees. A thorough analysis of pooled data was performed to evaluate satisfaction rates among studies.

Results: A total of 85 studies were included. The median number of participants was 18 (interquartile range 10-27). Fourteen surgical disciplines were represented, with ear, nose, and throat/otolaryngology having the highest recorded utilization of 3DP models among residents and medical students (22.0%), followed by neurosurgery (14.0%) and urology (12.0%). 3DP models were created most frequently to model soft tissue (35.3%), bone (24.7%), vessel (14.1%), mixed (16.4%), or whole organs (6.66%) (Fig.1). Feedback from trainees was overwhelmingly positive regarding the fidelity of the models and their support for integration into their training programs. Among trainees, the combined satisfaction rate with their use in the curriculum was 95% (95% confidence interval, 0.92-0.97), and the satisfaction rate with the model fidelity was 90% (95% confidence interval, 0.86-0.94).

Conclusions: There is wide variation in the surgical specialties utilizing 3DP models in training. These models are effective in increasing trainee comfort with both common and rare scenarios and are associated with a high degree of resident support and satisfaction. Plastic surgery programs may benefit from the integration of this technology, potentially strengthening future surgical curricula. Objective evaluations of their pedagogic effects on residents are areas of future research.