Background This scoping review aims to provide a summary of the use of three-dimensional (3D) printing in colorectal surgery for the management of complex intestinal fistula and ostomy creation.

Methods A systematic database search was conducted of original articles that explored the use of 3D printing in colorectal surgery in EMBASE, MEDLINE, Cochrane database, and Google Scholar, from inception to March 2022. Original articles and case reports that discussed 3D printing in colorectal surgery relating to complex intestinal fistulae and ostomies were identified and analyzed.

Results There were 8 articles identified which discussed the use of 3D printing in colorectal surgery, of which 2 discussed ostomy creation, 4 discussed complex fistulae management, and 2 discussed patient models.

Conclusion 3D printing has a promising role in terms of management of these conditions and can improve outcomes in terms of recovery, fluid loss, and function with no increase in complications. The use of 3D printing is still in its early stages of development in colorectal surgery. Further research in the form of randomized control trials to improve methodological robustness will reveal its true potential.

C.L.S. and M.P., who share first authorship and contributed equally, were responsible for writing the main manuscript text, with M.P. taking charge of Tables 1–2 and Fig. 1, and C.S. handling Fig. 2. The entire author team participated in the manuscript's review process.

Data collection form and search results are available on enquiry to the corresponding author (C.L.S.).

*Authors contributed equally

Received: 29 November 2022

Accepted: 26 May 2023

Article published online:
26 September 2023

© 2023. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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