Virtual reality helps Nancy Rios understand her son Yariel’s surgery for Ewing sarcoma

When 8-year-old Yariel Canas-Rios refused to eat and spiked a fever, he was diagnosed with an ear infection. He started antibiotics, but his symptoms only got worse. He was next diagnosed with pneumonia, but that wasn’t right either. Yariel didn’t have an infection. He had Ewing sarcoma, the second most common type of bone cancer in children. 

Ewing sarcoma is generally treated with chemotherapy, surgery and radiation. The treatment team at Yariel’s local hospital didn’t feel comfortable moving forward with surgery. The tumor was big, one of his ribs had been broken by it, and it was near his heart. But hearing that surgery wasn’t possible was hard for his mom, Nancy Rios, and the rest of his family.  

“That’s not what a mom wants to hear — that it’s done,” said Nancy. “My sisters were on the call with me, and after the doctor hung up, they said, ‘Nancy, what about St. Jude?’ So, we asked the hospital to call. St. Jude responded so quickly, and Dr. Davidoff said he would take my son’s case.”  

Andrew Davidoff, MD, Department of Surgery chair, and his team received Yariel’s referral, did a video call with his family, and planned and conducted his surgery within weeks. With such an urgent need to move swiftly to secure the best outcomes for Yariel, it was critical for Davidoff that Yariel’s family understood the procedure he was about to undergo.  

At St. Jude, Davidoff and his colleagues are pioneering virtual reality simulations to model tumors and plan surgical approaches. The team then uses the 3D model to help explain to parents like Nancy what surgery for their child will entail.  

“An important part of the preparation of the patient and their family for an operation is to make sure, as best we can, that they understand what will happen during the surgery,” said Davidoff. “That includes the goal of surgery, what can be accomplished with surgery and a discussion about the potential complications, why they exist and what we do to try to avoid them.” 

“We are introducing new imaging technology that uses 3D modeling to give a virtual reality view that is more intuitive in how it conveys the anatomy, the circumstances of a patient’s cancer and our surgical approach. It’s very realistic, and it’s easier for a patient or family to understand than standard medical imaging, where scans can be challenging to interpret visually without experience.” 

As a tool to aid in pre-operative discussions between the surgeon and family, virtual reality models can help improve understanding of diagnosis, treatment options and the benefits and risks associated with surgery. 

“As a parent, you look at an X-ray or scan, and you only see surface details, but when you put on the virtual reality glasses, I was in tears because you don’t truly understand the size until you physically see it in 3D,” said Nancy. “I’m so grateful that I could ask questions while Dr. Davidoff was turning the model around and showing me because I had such a better understanding. Not just that he has the tumor, but how it touches this rib, that vein — to actually see it was on another level. Coming here to St. Jude — it’s the best decision that I’ve ever made,” Nancy said. “We’re just so grateful for the support of St. Jude, our family, friends, church and school.”