Creation of virtual three-dimensional animation using computer graphic technology for videoscopic transcervical upper mediastinal esophageal dissection

Background: Videoscopic transcervical mediastinal lymphadenectomy has been attempted to reduce thoracotomy-related complications of surgical treatment for esophageal cancer. However, many surgeons would hesitate to attempt this procedure because of the difficulty in understanding the anatomical orientation. In this study, we aimed to create a three-dimensional computer graphic (3D CG) animation and compare it with the real-life operation. Materials and Methods: LightWave 3D^® version 7 was used as a rendering software to create the 3D CG. The 3D CG images were superimposed to generate an animation using AfterEffects CC^®. Results: The 3D CG animation for videoscopic transcervical upper mediastinal esophageal dissection was successfully created; it dynamically shows the scene, especially the separation between the esophagus and trachea, and enables surgeons to easily understand the anatomical orientation when using transcervical approach. This 3D CG animation was of high quality and similar to the real-life operation. Conclusions: We created a virtual 3D CG animation for the transcervical approach, which will contribute to understanding this procedure for esophageal cancer preoperatively.