title: [Thiel's method of embalming and its usefulness in surgical assessments].
abstract: When we assess anatomical problems and the safety and effectiveness for performing a difficult surgical procedure or planning novel surgical approaches, preoperative human dissections are very helpful. However, embalming with the conventional formaldehyde method makes the soft tissue of the cadaver harder than that of a living body. Therefore, the cadaver embalmed with conventional formaldehyde is not appropriate for dissections when assess surgical approaches. Thiel's method is a novel embalming technique, first reported by W. Theil in 1992. This method can preserve color and softness of the cadaver without risk of infections. We have used cadavers embalmed with Thiel's method for preoperative assessments and have confirmed the usefulness of this method especially for the prevention of complications or in assessing surgical approaches. The cadaver embalmed with this method has several advantages over other embalming methods and it might be also useful for the developments of new surgical devices or evaluation of a surgeon's skill.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo.
authors.forename: Ryuhei
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Okada
authors.forename: Atsunobu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tsunoda
authors.forename: Naoko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Momiyama
authors.forename: Naomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kishine
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kitamura
authors.forename: Seiji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kishimoto
authors.forename: Keiichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Akita
mesh_terms: D002102:Cadaver; D004615:Embalming / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative