Saved by a 3D printer! A 54-year-old Spaniard received a sternum prosthesis and a part of titanium rib cage, printed in 3D. This object was manufactured by the Australian company Anatomics in collaboration with an Australian laboratory of the Federal Organization for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIRO) based in Melbourne. The patient followed at the University Hospital of Salamanca (Spain) suffers from a sarcoma, a tumor that affects his chest.
Custom printing
The prosthesis could be custom designed to best adapt to the patient’s anatomy and thus increase the success of the operation. The elements imprinted by this technology could be permanently attached to the healthy parts of this man’s rib cage. The operation was performed without difficulty and the patient was able to leave the hospital after 12 days of convalescence.
3D printing, the medicine of tomorrow?
This success once again fuels hopes for 3D printing for its effectiveness in the medical field. Custom-designed, 3D-printed hip and knee prostheses had already been successfully implanted. In addition, 3D printing makes it possible to produce replacement parts used in surgery. to treat certain heart diseases. The main advantage of such implants lies in their biocompatibility: the risk of rejection is then greatly reduced compared to the risk associated with the transplant of a tissue or organ taken from another person.
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Video: a 3D printed titanium plate changes his life
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