Curved section modeling-based three-dimensional printing for guiding septal myectomy

The use of three-dimensional (3D) printing technology in cardiovascular medicine has attracted more and more interest. Congenital cardiovascular disease is often associated with complex and unique anatomic characteristics. It is difficult to be fully understood from two-dimensional (2D) CT, cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR), or echocardiographic imaging. To date, 3D printed models have been used in various congenital heart diseases such as double-outlet right ventricle (1), tetralogy of Fallot (2), and complex aorta surgery (3,4). Recently, one study applied the 3D printed models in pre-operative planning and simulation for septal myectomy in hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) (5). Here, we investigated the curved section modeling technique from surgeon’s view angle for 3D printing of HOCM model.