Patient receives 3D printed sternum and ribs

The possibilities of 3D technology continue to expand and its use is becoming more widespread. In Spain, a patient received a custom titanium implant, printed in 3D, to replace part of his rib cage, which had been removed during an operation.

The 54-year-old man suffered from rare tumor growing around the breastbone and part of his rib cage. The doctors had no choice but to take it away from him. remove the part affected by the tumor. In general, this part of the skeleton is quite complicated to reproduce, which is why surgeons use a flat titanium plate, to strengthen the structure of the rib cage. This option is not without risk, the implant can indeed detach and cause complications.

A titanium implant to replace the rib cage

This is where 3D printing comes in. Since its inception, its use has become more and more popular in a wide variety of fields. In medicine, this technology represents today a quite possible option to quickly create personalized implants for patients, each body being different. This is what the surgical team at Salamanca University Hospital decided to do, asking an Australian-based medical device company to create a titanium implant that would take up the complex structure of the rib cage of their patient.

(Embed) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt0CiUDVPHk (/ embed) 

The team has used high resolution computed tomography (CT-scan), a medical imaging technique, to recreate that part of the body of the person who was to be operated on as well as their tumor. The 3D image obtained allowed the surgeon to know exactly where to cut the rib cage, and Anatomics to create the implant. To print it, the company sent the file to the 3D printing laboratory (Lab 22) of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), the Federal Organization for Scientific and Industrial Research.

Other implants, already created with a 3D printer

This type of request is not unknown Lab 22, which had already helped in the past by creating a titanium calcaneus. This voluminous cancellous bone is found on the back of the foot at the heel in what is called the tarsus. It is thanks to him that it is possible to lay the heel flat. Once the 3D printed rib cage was fully completed, it could be sent to Salamanca University Hospital, where it was implanted in the patient's chest. The operation took place two weeks ago, and the 54-year-old appears to be recovering well.

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