title: Clinical application of three-dimensional printing technology in craniofacial plastic surgery.
abstract: Three-dimensional (3D) printing has been particularly widely adopted in medical fields. Application of the 3D printing technique has even been extended to bio-cell printing for 3D tissue/organ development, the creation of scaffolds for tissue engineering, and actual clinical application for various medical parts. Of various medical fields, craniofacial plastic surgery is one of areas that pioneered the use of the 3D printing concept. Rapid prototype technology was introduced in the 1990s to medicine via computer-aided design, computer-aided manufacturing. To investigate the current status of 3D printing technology and its clinical application, a systematic review of the literature was conducted. In addition, the benefits and possibilities of the clinical application of 3D printing in craniofacial surgery are reviewed, based on personal experiences with more than 500 craniofacial cases conducted using 3D printing tactile prototype models.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery, Asan Medical Center, Ulsan University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jong Woo
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Convergence Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Ulsan University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Namkug
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kim
keywords: Computer simulation; Craniofacial Abnormalities; Orthognathic surgery; Surgical flap; Three-dimensional printing