Han Han was born with hydrocephalus, a medical condition that causes abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain. Doctors have now saved her life by implanting a 3D printed titanium skull.
The little girl’s head has grown up to a size, where it weighed more than half of her entire body weight and she had therefore been forced to stay in bed for almost a year. Her family was now finally able to raise enough money for the operation thanks to donations. During a 17-hour operation, doctors at a hospital in Hunan Province in Southeast China drained fluid, repositioned her brain and implanted the 3D printed upper part of the skull. The team used data of CT scans to model the mesh structured implant, which was then 3D printed using a titanium alloy.
The complex surgery had been successful and Han Han is expected to make a full recovery according to doctors. Over time, her own bone will grow over the implants and form her new skull.
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