The potential of a plastination specimen for temporal bone surgery.
OBJECTIVE
The benefits of plastination specimens in temporal bone surgery (TBS) were evaluated.


METHODS
A formalin-preserved human temporal bone was drilled and dissected with the middle cranial fossa approach or the translabyrinthine (or transcochlear) approach. The specimen was thereafter subjected to silicon impregnation.


RESULTS
The flexibility of the dura mater after plastination was maintained, and not only bony structures such as the auditory ossicles and semicircular canals but also soft tissues such as the facial nerve, internal carotid artery and the sinus attached to the dura mater were easily discriminated.


CONCLUSIONS
The technique furnishes a persistently dry, odorless and durable specimen that allows handling and may serve as the most ideal specimen for anatomical learning of various approaches of TBS.
Maeta
Manabu
M
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine and Dentistry, 2-5-1 Shikata-cho, 700-8558, Okayama, Japan. m-maeta@cc.okayama-u.ac.jp
Uno
Kinya
K
Saito
Ryusuke
R
D002343:Carotid Artery, Internal / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D002983:Clinical Competence; D035301:Cranial Fossa, Middle / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D005154:Facial Nerve / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D006801:Humans; D013701:Temporal Bone / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000601:surgery*