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

• Published in: Clinical hemorheology and microcirculation Vol. 85; no. 3; pp. 277 - 287
• Main Authors: Brebant, V, Lemonnier, L, Georgieva, M, Anker, A, Heine, N, Seitz, S, Frank, K, Prantl, L, Eigenberger, A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands 2023
• Subjects: breast cancer; 3D imaging; volumetry; breast surgery; Breast reconstruction; anthropometry
• ISSN: 1386-0291; 1875-8622
• DOI: 10.3233/CH-229101

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. The aim of this work is to validate breast volumetry using three-dimensional surface imaging. 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. 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). 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.