A team of doctors at the Phramongkutklao Hospital in Thailand has successfully implanted a 3D printed titanium bone replacing the metacarpal of the patient’s thumb.
The right-hand thumb of the 37-year-olf woman had deteriorated because of a tumour. Instead of replacing the section with a cut out bone section from the hip or leg, doctors used 3D printing technology to create a titanium implant, based on the form of the metacarpal of the patient’s other hand. The 3D printed resin model, based on x-ray and scan data, was used to create the titanium cast for the actual implant.
“The patient would not have been able to move their thumb or the tumour may have returned if the old method was used, but with the 3D-printed titanium bone, the patient can use their hand as normal,” Dr. Thipachart Punyaratabandhu explained.
The doctors from the hospital’s Orthopaedic department had collaborated with engineers from Chulalongkorn University for this surgery.
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