The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital is alleged to have completed the first operation aided by 3-D printing technology in the PRC.
According to a report in China Daily, a 6-year-old boy, tormented by brittle bone disease, is able to stand again after an operation assisted by 3-D printing.
Brittle bone disease is caused by a genetic mutation that affects collagen (found in bones) production in the body. The disorder is credited with causing serious bone defects, bad muscles and weak joints. The disease can be fatal and there is currently no cure.
According to China Daily, one in every 10,000 to 15,000 people suffers from the disease.
The unnamed boy, from Guiyang, Guizhou province, could only sit in a chair and was unable to stand due to several fractures in his legs, according doctors involved in the surgery.
The printed bones were not used to replace actual bone, but instead used to plan how the surgery would be conducted. This was done due to the difficulty in conducting an X-ray on the youth.
“By printing out a 3-D skeleton model of the boys lower limbs, we were able to make a precise plan for the boys operation and perform the operation successfully,” Kaitsun, a consultant surgeon of orthopedics and traumatology at the hospital, told reporters.
“Due to severe bone malformation, even making a standard X-ray film became impossible which made it very difficult to work out an operational plan for him.”
The 3-D model of the boy’s skeleton cost roughly RMB2000 and was made by Shenzhen Sunshine Laser and Electronics Technology, a Shenzhen company that focuses on 3-D reproduction.
The use of 3-D models has been credited with cutting down surgery time and saving the boy a considerable amount of pain and recovery time.
The surgery was carried out by cutting the bones and reconnecting the pieces with metal rods. This process will ensure the bones connect in their correct shape.
The boy is currently recovering from the operation, which occurred on June 24, and will require periodical examinations, according to China Daily.
“My son had fractures every two or three days,” the boy’s father told local reporters. “I am so grateful that he can stand up now.”
[Image via Europics]
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