Comparison of analog and digitally evaluated volume of the female breast in reconstructive breast surgery. Validation of a noninvasive measurement method with 3D camera¹

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Brebant, V.^{a; *} | Lemonnier, L.^a | Georgieva, M.^b | Anker, A.^a | Heine, N.^a | Seitz, S.^c | Frank, K.^d | Prantl, L.^a | Eigenberger, A.^{a; e}

Affiliations: [a] University Medical Center Regensburg. Center for Plastic, Reconstructive, Aesthetic and Hand Surgery, Regensburg, Germany | [b] University Medical Center Regensburg, Department of Radiology, Regensburg, Germany | [c] University Medical Center Regensburg, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Caritas Hospital St. Josef, Regensburg, Germany | [d] Division of Hand-, Plastic- and Aesthetic Surgery, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany | [e] Medical Device Lab, Regensburg Center of Biomedical Engineering (RCBE), Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Dr. Vanessa Brebant, University Medical Center Regensburg. Center for Plastic, Reconstructive, Aesthetic and Hand Surgery, Caritas Hospital St. Josef, Regensburg, Germany. E-mail: vanessa.brebant@ukr.de.

Note: [1] This article was presented at the 40th Conference of the German Society for Clinical Microcirculation and Hemorheology (DGKMH), Senftenberg, Germany, 20–21 May 2022.

Abstract: BACKGROUND:Reconstructive surgery is established as a standard treatment option after mastectomy due to cancer. It is crucial to patients to achieve a natural and symmetric looking breast through reconstruction. Anthropometric measurements are used to assess the objective symmetry of the breast, which are prone to errors and difficult to reproduce. OBJECTIVE:The aim of this work is to validate breast volumetry using three-dimensional surface imaging. METHODS:We compared preoperatively analog and digitally evaluated volume of the breast with our gold standard, direct water displacement measurement of the mastectomy specimen. We examined 34 breast specimens in total. RESULTS:Each measurement method (Breast Sculptor, VAM, Breast-V) for breast volume/mass determination demonstrates acceptable agreement ranges when compared with resected volumes and masses. The strongest volumetry instrument is Breast Sculptor (digital), the weakest is Breast-V (analog). CONCLUSIONS:3D surface imaging is a quick, effective, and convenient method to evaluate breast shape and volume. The accuracy, reproducibility, and reliability of 3D surface imaging were comparable with MRI in our study.This takes us a step closer to the long-term goal of establishing robust instruments to plan breast reconstructive surgery, achieve better surgical results, and contribute to quality assurance in breast surgery.

Keywords: Breast reconstruction, breast cancer, 3D imaging, breast surgery, volumetry, anthropometry

DOI: 10.3233/CH-229101

Journal: Clinical Hemorheology and Microcirculation, vol. 85, no. 3, pp. 277-287, 2023