A Computational Tool for Preoperative Breast Augmentation Planning in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Joachim Georgii, Maximilian Eder, Kai Burger, Sebastian Klotz, Florian Ferstl, Laszlo Kovacs, Rudiger Westermann
2014 IEEE journal of biomedical and health informatics  
Breast augmentation was the most commonly performed cosmetic surgery procedure in 2011 in the United States. Although aesthetically pleasing surgical results can only be achieved if the correct breast implant is selected from a large variety of different prosthesis sizes and shapes available on the market, surgeons still rely on visual assessment and other subjective approaches for operative planning because of lacking objective evaluation tools. In this paper we present the development of a
more » ... tware prototype for augmentation mammaplasty simulation solely based on 3D surface scans, from which patient-specific finite element models are generated in a semi-automatic process. The finite element model is used to pre-operatively simulate the expected breast shapes using physical soft tissue mechanics. Our approach uses a novel mechanism based on so-called displacement templates, which, for a specific implant shape and position, describe the respective internal body forces. Due to a highly efficient numerical solver we can provide immediate visual feedback of the simulation results, and thus the software prototype can be integrated smoothly into the medical workflow. The clinical value of the developed 3D computational tool for aesthetic breast augmentation surgery planning is demonstrated in patientspecific use cases.
doi:10.1109/jbhi.2013.2285308 pmid:24132029 fatcat:ujy2jf2tizb4jeyc5gyeomanmi