March 15, 2019
A team of South African surgeons has achieved the feat of grafting for the first time on two patients small bones of the middle ear obtained through 3D printing.
Small middle ear transplant patients obtained through 3D printing
3D printing continues to progress in the medical world. In a press release published on March 14, the University of Pretoria, South Africa, explains that it has succeeded, for the first time in the world, the transplant on three patients of small bones of the middle ear obtained through 3D printing.
This transplant ” could be the solution to conductive hearing loss, a middle ear problem caused by birth defects, infection, trauma, or metabolic disease »Specifies the press release. It was thus possible to operate, thanks to this technology, a 35-year-old patient, whose inner ear had been totally damaged in a car accident, but also newborns.
“Less risk than the prostheses known until now”
3D printing made it possible to make these small bones in the middle ear, which are the smallest in the human body, made up of three bones. ” By replacing only the ossicles that are not functioning properly, the procedure is less risky than the prostheses known so far “.
For Professor Tshifularo, head of the otolaryngology department, this is a major step forward: “ 3D technology allows us to do things we never thought we could do “. But to continue to progress, he is launching a call for funds ” But I need sponsors and funds to make this invention take off “.
Aurélie Giraud
Read also : The transplant: how do you replace an organ?
