Role of three dimensional (3D) printing in endourology: An update from EAU young academic urologists (YAU) urolithiasis and endourology working group.

The management of nephrolithiasis has been complemented well by modern technological advancements like virtual reality, three-dimensional (3D) printing etc. In this review, we discuss the applications of 3D printing in treating stone disease using percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) and retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS). PCNL surgeries, when preceded by a training phase using a 3D printed model, aid surgeons to choose the proper course of action, which results in better procedural outcomes. The 3D printed models have also been extensively used to train junior residents and novice surgeons to improve their proficiency in the procedure. Such novel measures include different approaches employed to 3D print a model, from 3D printing the entire pelvicalyceal system with the surrounding tissues to 3D printing simple surgical guides.

Frontiers in surgery. 2022 Aug 12*** epublish ***

B M Zeeshan Hameed, Amelia Pietropaolo, Nithesh Naik, Calvin Noronha, Patrick Juliebø-Jones, Ioannis Mykoniatis, Francesco Esperto, Milap Shah, Sufyan Ibrahim, Dasharathraj K Shetty, Hadis Karimi, Diya Sharma, Bhavan Prasad Rai, Piotr Chlosta, Bhaskar K Somani

Department of Urology, Father Muller Medical College, Mangalore, Karnataka, India., European Association of Urology - Young Academic Urologists (EAU-YAU) Urolithiasis and Endourology Working Group, Arnhem, Netherlands., iTRUE (International Training and Research in Uro-oncology and Endourology) Group, Manipal, Karnataka, India., Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India., Department of Humanities and Management, Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India., Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India., Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India., Department of Urology, Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Kraków, Poland.