ArticleBMJ open2026
Surgical mapping with advanced 3D-reconstruction in minimally invasive liver surgery (SMART-MILS): protocol for a prospective randomised controlled trial.
Article in BMJ open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionLiver resection is a technically demanding procedure due to the complex and highly variable anatomy of the liver. Conventional preoperative planning relies on two-dimensional imaging, which requires mental reconstruction of three-dimensional anatomical relationships and may increase cognitive workload and intraoperative decision-making time. Patient-specific three-dimensional (3D) liver mapping has been shown to improve anatomical understanding and planning accuracy; however its impact on intraoperative efficiency has not been adequately investigated. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This is a prospective, randomised, controlled, open-label superiority trial with a 1:1 allocation ratio, stratified by planned resection type (extent of resection according to highest applicable Iwate difficulty score). Adult patients (≥18 years) scheduled for elective minimally invasive liver resection at the University Hospital RWTH Aachen will be enrolled. The control arm will receive standard preoperative planning using conventional two-dimensional CT and/or MRI. The intervention arm will receive additional patient-specific 3D liver mapping generated using CE-approved software (MeVis Liver Suite), available preoperatively and intraoperatively. The primary endpoint will be the operative time (minutes from the first cutaneous incision to the final suture). Secondary endpoints will include intraoperative blood loss, rate of R0 resection in oncological cases, length of stay in the hospital and intensive care unit, surgeon task load, surgeons' salivary cortisol levels and cost-effectiveness. A total of 126 patients (63 per arm) will be enrolled to achieve 120 evaluable datasets. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethics approval has been obtained from the Ethics Committee of the Medical Faculty, University Hospital RWTH Aachen (Ref. No. 26-050). Written informed consent will be obtained from all patients and participating surgeons. Results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and scientific conferences, independent of study outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: DRKS00039587.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.