Monday 16 March 2015

3D Printing for Reconstructive Surgery

So far we have heard of 3D printing for constructing parts of the body as aids in surgery. They have been used in 2 successful surgeries in toddlers.

One case was the separation of a Siamese twins. The conjoined twins were successfully separated in a 26-hour surgery. They are Hope and Faith (Knatalye Hope Mata and Adeline Faith Mata). Surgery was done at the Texas Children's Hospital.
http://www.medicaldaily.com/pulse/conjoined-twins-separated-doctors-disjoin-major-organs-26-hour-operation-separate-323152


A second case was the re-construction of the face of a toddler named Violet. Violet was born earlier than her twin sister who has a normal face. Violet's eyes are set far apart. She has Tessier facial cleft. The surgery aimed to give her a better face. Surgery was done at the Boston Children's Hospital.
http://www.medicaldaily.com/pulse/girl-tessier-facial-cleft-undergoes-3d-printing-surgery-reconstruct-face-319960