Background Endometrial cancer co-occurring with a pelvic ectopic kidney is an extremely rare condition. To prevent accidental intraoperative injury to the ectopic kidney and its aberrant vasculature, digital model obtained through three-dimensional (3D)reconstruction was used to clearly delineate the complex spatial relationship between the tumor and the ectopic renal anatomy, offering a novel strategy for managing this type of complex cases. Case presentation A 45-year-old woman of Chinese ethnicity was diagnosed with endometrial cancer. Preoperative imaging revealed an ectopic kidney in the right pelvis. Based on CT data, we reconstructed the digital 3D models of the urinary system and the tumor using Mimics medical 23.0 (Materialise NV, Belgium)to evaluate anatomical variations and assess surgical risks. The 3D model clearly illustrated the spatial relationships among the ectopic kidney, the tumor, adjacent vessels, and surrounding organs, facilitating optimized surgical planning. During the operation, the model demonstrated high concordance with the actual anatomy, and no unexpected injuries occurred. Conclusion The use of 3D-reconstructed model facilitates an intuitive visualization of intricate anatomical variations, which may contribute to enhanced surgical safety for patients presenting with gynecological tumors and concurrent rare congenital abnormalities, suggesting that this approach holds promise for future clinical integration.
Li et al. (Mon,) studied this question.