LAUSR

Objective To explore the application of three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction technology for midline glossectomy in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Methods Fifteen patients with OSA were included in this study. Each of them received computed tomography angiography (CTA) examination of lingual arteries in the resting tongue position and fully extended tongue position respectively. The two-dimensional CTA images were converted to 3D models using 3D reconstruction technology. We simulated the midline glossectomy in different tongue positions with a safe margin of 3 mm. The differences in the distances between bilateral lingual arteries, the depths of the lingual arteries and the surgical resectable volumes of the tongue were compared between different tongue positions in 3D models. Results The depths of the lingual arteries, the distances between bilateral lingual arteries based on three measuring sections and the surgical resectable volumes of the tongue in the fully extended tongue position were significantly smaller than those in the resting tongue position ( P  < 0.01 or 0.05). Conclusion The 3D reconstruction technology can show the course of lingual artery stereoscopically and visually, and can be more beneficial to guide surgery than two-dimensional examination. Lingual artery examination in the fully extended tongue position has higher specificity in displaying intraoperative actual situation.