Use of a 3-Dimensional Printed Model of Congenital Aural Atresia for Family Surgical Counseling

Objective To 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. Design Prospective study. Setting Tertiary academic children's hospital. Patients/Participants Twenty-three families with children with congenital aural atresia. Interventions A 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 Measures Scale of 1 to 5 (strongly disagree to strongly agree) regarding utility of the 3D model. Results Resources 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). Conclusion A 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.