Surgeons at the Prince of Wales Hospital near Sydney have successfully fitted a patient with a 3D printed vertebrae implant during a 15 hour long and extremely difficult operation last December.
The doctors had to remove a tumour that was located at the top two vertebrae of the patient’s spine. “It involves exposure at the top of the neck, where the neck and the head meet, and it’s essentially [detaching] the patient’s head from his neck and taking the tumour out and reattaching his head back to his neck“, explains Dr. Ralph Mobbs, who conducted the particularly complicated surgery.
The 3D printed titanium vertebrae implant now connects the patient’s head to his neck and was custom fitted thanks to 3D printing technology. Dr. Mobbs added, that without the surgery the patient would have gradually lost function of his arms and legs, capacity to breathe and eat.
Subscribe to our Newsletter
3DPResso is a weekly newsletter that links to the most exciting global stories from the 3D printing and additive manufacturing industry.
