In-house 3D printing: Why, when, and how? Overview of the national French good practice guidelines for in-house 3D-printing in maxillo-facial surgery, stomatology, and oral surgery.

3D-printing is part of the daily practice of maxillo-facial surgeons, stomatologists and oral surgeons. To date, no French health center is producing in-house medical devices according to the new European standards. Based on all the evidence-based data available, a group of experts from the French Society of Stomatology, Maxillo-Facial Surgery and Oral Surgery (Société Française de Chirurgie Maxillofaciale, Stomatologie et Chirurgie Orale, SFSCMFCO), provide good practice guidelines for in-house 3D-printing in maxillo-facial surgery, stomatology, and oral surgery. Briefly, technical considerations related to printers and CAD software, which were the main challenges in the last ten years, are now nearly trivial questions. The central current issues when planning the implementation of an in-house 3D-printing platform are economic and regulatory. Successful in-house 3D platforms rely on close collaborations between health professionals and engineers, backed by regulatory and logistic specialists. Several large-scale academic projects across France will soon provide definitive answers to governance and economical questions related to the use of in-house 3D printing.

Fat graft transfer in children's facial malformations: a prospective three-dimensional evaluation.

INTRODUCTION: Autologous fat grafting for volume augmentation in soft tissues has grown in popularity in the paediatric plastic surgery community, despite a lack of quantifiable evidence of graft survival and predictable outcomes for child patients. The objective of this study is to quantify, through an objective method, the rate of survival of fat grafting in children's reconstructive surgery. METHODS: Clinical evaluation of all children was performed under standardised conditions in a prospective fashion with a 1-year follow-up. All patients, under 18 years of age, were photographed with a three-dimensional imaging system. Data were analysed with three-dimensional analysing software to quantify the volume improvements postoperatively and during the follow-up. RESULTS: Eleven children were included and followed up for 12 months. The mean age was 7.4 years. The mean amount of fat grafted was 13 cm3. At the end of the follow-up, the mean survival rate of the fat grafted was 40%. Complementary fat grafts were needed in 27% of the cases. No significant complications occurred. CONCLUSION: Until now, the literature has failed to provide objective evidence of fat survival in children. This study, using three-dimensional data, showed a 40% survival of grafted fat. The use of three-dimensional photographs and analysis has great clinical potential for surgical planning and follow-up.