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3D printing set to revolutionise reconstructive surgery for accident victims and cancer patients (13 March 2014)

Date: 13/03/2014
Duncan Lewis, Personal Injury Solicitors, 3D printing set to revolutionise reconstructive surgery for accident victims and cancer patients

3D printers are set to revolutionise reconstructive surgery, as team of plastic surgeons use 3D printing to replicate components of the body damaged or destroyed in accidents or as a result of diseases like cancer.

3D reconstructive surgery is currently being used by maxillofacial surgeons treating patients with advanced facial cancers who have undergone facial surgery which has left them with severe disfigurement.

BBC News reports that a team at the Morriston Hospital in Swansea, South Wales has now rebuilt the face of a road traffic accident (RTA) victim by printing out exact replacement components to reconstruct his skull using a 3D printer.

The patient suffered crush injuries to his skull and face in a motorbike accident and was also left with multiple fractures which required extensive surgery and plates to enable him to learn how to walk again.

The technique used by the Swansea team for facial reconstruction using 3D printing is thought to be one of the first of its kind.

After the most recent operation to restore symmetry to the patient’s face, the reconstructive surgery was found to have restored the patient’s face to within 1mm of being symmetrical.

The technology is being developed by the Centre of Applied Reconstructive Technologies in Surgery (Cartis), which was set up in 2006 as a joint venture between the maxillofacial unit at the Morriston Hospital and Cardiff Metropolitan University’s National Centre for Product Design and Development Research.

Dental surgeon Andrew Dawood has also used 3D printing to construct a silicon facial prosthesis for 60-year-old Eric Moger, who underwent radical surgery for facial cancer at University College Hospital London, which involved the removal of much of the tissue and bone on the left-hand side of his face.

In the US, a team at the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington DC has used 3D printing to make 3D synthetic models of children’s hearts using data from individual patients in order to construct a replica of their own heart.

CT scanners and ultrasound technology enable the 3D printer to build up an intricate model using thin layers of powered materials such as silicon, plastics or aluminium, heated to high temperatures in a 3D printer.

Paediatric cardiologist Laura Olivieri said that the models can be taken apart before surgery to enable surgeons to get to know the structure of each patient’s individual heart – and even practise surgery on the model of patient’s heart before commencing a heart operation.

The use of 3D printing technology in surgery is potentially limitless, from making replacement hip and knee joints to a patient’s own individual requirements and precise measurements – including any individual peculiarities or deformities – to replicating bones damaged in accidents and as a result of disease.

Cases of radical facial surgery are increasing in the UK, as more people are diagnosed with cancers of the mouth, throat, tongue and nose as a result of smoking and alcohol use – and a rise in the number of oral cancers as a result of the HPV virus (wart virus).


Duncan Lewis Personal Injury Solicitors

Injuries such as facial disfigurement may be eligible for compensation if caused by the negligence or reckless of a third party, such as a road traffic accident caused by another road user.

The sort of accidents resulting in injury which claims could be made for include:

  • Criminal Injuries

  • Holiday Accidents & Injury

  • Industrial Accidents & Disease

  • Medical Negligence

  • Military Accidents

  • Road Traffic Accidents

  • Sports Accidents.


Duncan Lewis Personal Injury Solicitors can advise on how to make a no win no fee personal injury claim for compensation if you have suffered an injury which was caused by another party within the last three years.

For expert help with making a person injury claims contact Duncan Lewis personal injury solicitors on 020 7923 4020.


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