3D Printing is the Future
The University of Hasselt (Belgium) announced today that Belgian and Dutch scientists have successfully replaced a lower jaw with a 3D printed model for a 83 year-old woman.
According to the researchers, it is the first custom-made implant in the world to replace an entire lower jaw.
This development is led by Research Institute BIOMED at Hasselt University, in collaboration with surgeons from the Netherlands, including the Orbis Centre in Sittard-Geleen, Xilloc Medical BV, Maastricht and Cam bioceramics BV in Leiden.
Of course, we have talked about this before - but that was only a proof of concept.
The lower jaw of the elderly woman was badly infected and needed to be removed. Considering the age of the patient, a “classical” microsurgical reconstructive surgery takes too long time and can be risky. Therefore a tailor-made implant is the best choice. It took a few hours to print.
A titanium laser sintering 3D Printer was used to create the jaw.
The operation was performed in June last year in the hospital in Sittard-Geleen. One day later the lady could start talking and swallowing.
“Computer technology is causing a revolution in medical industry”, said professor Jules Poukens from BIOMED. “A traditional surgery takes up to 20 hours, and the patient should definitely stay 2 to 4 weeks in the hospital. But this operation lasted four hours and the woman could go home after four days.”
The university expects that such patient-specific implants will be widely used in the future.
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