World First: 3D-Printed Tibia Successfully Inserted Into Man’s Leg During Surgery
First published September 10, 2017
A team of Australian surgeons have successfully implanted a 3D-printed tibia into a 27-year-old man’s leg.
The Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane, Australia, collaborated with the Queensland University of Technology with the design of the original polymer and “scaffold,” and with the printing technology in Singapore.*
The young father had suffered a life-threatening osteomyelitis, and faced above-knee amputation as the alternative.
It’s going to be fascinating following the journey of this man’s recovery, and hearing more and more stories of others successfully receiving 3D-printed bone and tissue. Both metropolitan and regional locations will soon be able to have these resources on hand (a 3D-printed tibia is pictured from Mackay Base Hospital’s 3D-printer here).
For more information, head to The Age and the ABC News.
*We’d love to credit the site in Singapore where the printing for this surgery took place!