The rib cage itself is complex and hard to replicate.
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The patient suffered from a chest wall sarcoma, and part of the cancer treatment involved having his sternum and part of his rib cage removed. In order to do this, the surgical team turned to Anatomics, a company well versed in 3D printing, implants, and other biomedical technology.
“No human body is the same, so therefore every implant is going to be different”.
For the first time in history, a patient has received a custom 3D-printed titanium implant, created to replace part of his ribcage.
The wonders of 3D printing can turn an average person into a cyborg-radically improving their quality of life in the process.
After a successful surgery, the Spanish patient was discharged from the hospital 12 days later and is reportedly on his way to a full recovery.
“While titanium implants have previously been used in chest surgery, designs have not considered the issues surrounding long term fixation,” he added.
Once complete, the 3D-printed sternum and partial rib cage was couriered to Spain and implanted into the patient’s chest.
The arrival of seemingly far-flung medical experiments as clinical lifesavers continues to be asserted by daring physicians and patients who push the limits of current interventions.
“From this, we were able to design an implant with a rigid sternal core and semi-flexible titanium rods to act as prosthetic ribs attached to the sternum”, Batty said.
According to CSIRO’s blog, surgeons typically use a flat and plate implants for the chest, but these can loosen over time and cause complications.
The 3D digital CAD files mapping the unique and intricate anatomical structures of the patient’s chest wall were sent to the Australian government’s specialized 3D-printing laboratory at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO).
The titanium implant was printed using $1.3 million Arcam 3D printer at Lab 22.
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“As well as being customisable, it also allows for rapid prototyping – which can make a big difference if a patient is waiting for surgery”.
