Chinese doctors have just reshaped the skull of a 3-year-old girl who suffered from congenital hydrocephalus, a disease characterized by the accumulation of fluid around the brain. As the cerebrospinal fluid fails to drain properly, the buildup of fluid gradually causes the head to swell and exposes the brain to additional pressure, causing headaches, nausea and drowsiness. In children, the head can increase in size impressively, and this is what happened to little Hanhan.
Usually the treatment for hydrocephalus involves creating a new path inside the skull to allow the cerebrospinal fluid to be drained. Doctors remove part of the skull, insert a small tube to drain the fluid to another part of the body, and replace the piece of skull box removed for the operation. But for little HanHan, the doctors wanted to avoid any risk due to a still fragile skull and preferred to use a titanium implant, made with a 3D printer.
The operation took place at the Changsha People’s Hospital in Yunnan Province, China.
3D printing is a real breakthrough for surgeons. A year ago, a young patient from the Netherlands who suffered from a bone disease causing the thickening of her skull received a skull prosthesis entirely made using a 3D printer.
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