Reconstruction operation is one kind of the surgery that helps patients of all ages and types - whether it’s a child with a birth defect, a young adult injured in an accident, or an older adult with a problem caused by aging. The goals of reconstructive surgery differ from those of cosmetic surgery. Reconstructive surgery is performed on abnormal structures of the body, caused by birth defects, developmental abnormalities, trauma or injury, infection, tumors, or disease. It is generally performed to improve function, but may also be done to approximate a normal appearance. Cosmetic surgery is performed to reshape normal structures of the body to improve the patient’s appearance and self-esteem. There are two basic categories of patients of reconstructive surgery: those who have congenital deformities, otherwise known as birth defects, and those with developmental deformities, acquired as a result of accident, infection, disease, or in some cases, aging. Some common examples of congenital abnormalities are birthmarks; cleft-lip and palate deformities; hand deformities such as syndactyly (webbed fingers), or extra or absent fingers; and abnormal breast development. Burn wounds, lacerations, growths, and aging problems are considered acquired deformities. Large, sagging breasts are one example of a deformity that develops as a result of genetics, hormonal changes, or disease. Breast reduction, or reduction mammaplasty, is the reconstructive procedure designed to give a woman smaller, more comfortable breasts in proportion with the rest of her body.
Published in Chapter:
Virtual Reality for Supporting Surgical Planning
Sandra Leal (University Hospitals‘Virgen del Rocío’, Spain), Cristina Suarez (University Hospitals‘Virgen del Rocío’, Spain), J. M. Framinan (University of Seville, Spain), Carlos Luis Parra (University Hospitals‘Virgen del Rocío’, Spain), and Tomás Gómez (University Hospitals ‘Virgen del Rocío’, Spain)
Copyright: © 2010
|Pages: 22
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-61520-670-4.ch029
Abstract
Nowadays many surgical procedures are still carried out based on the skills and manual dexterity of each surgeon. The complexity and variability of the operations (very dependent on anatomical and functional personal characteristics), the difficulty of sharing and transferring the acquired knowledge, and the problems for surgeons to train in a realistic context make up a very complex scenario. In this sense, Virtual Reality (VR) provide supporting for surgical training and planning. VR permits modeling, simulation and visualization techniques using 3-D, anatomical predictive models, which are based on realistic models of tissues and organs. The usage of these technologies as a support for surgical planning results in a reduction of the uncertainty in the surgical process, a decrease in the risks for the patients, as well as an improvement of the results. This chapter presents a case of study of a Virtual Reality tool for supporting surgical planning, called VirSSPA, that has been already successfully applied in the University Hospital “Virgen del Rocio” (Seville-Spain).