It was ten years ago that I was wheeled into surgery for an anterior lumbar spinal fusion for scoliosis. Without the medical speak, that means I was going to have the discs between my vertebrae removed in the lower section of my spine, which would eventually fuse the vertebrae together into a solid bone with the help of a titanium rod and screws to fix a curve in my spine. It was a major but successful operation.
A year on, I was able to function perfectly well with only a few slight differences to how my life had been before I had the operation and one major difference – I was no longer wonky! It has had me thinking ever since about how the surgery could have been less evasive, or more effective. What happens to someone in a car crash who needs a whole vertebra replaced? Or a few vertebrae for that matter? It just so happens that orthopaedic surgeons have been thinking the same thing.
Recently, in a five-hour operation on a twelve-year-old cancer patient named Qin Minglin, surgeons in Beijing were able to remove the affected vertebra and replace it with a 3D-printed vertebra. In the first-of-its-kind surgery, doctors noted that the structure of the 3D-printed vertebra needed to be exactly the same as the patient’s bone structure and that it matches the anatomical structure of the patient. This means that the vertebra was specifically designed for Qin Minglin’s spine, and he will experience faster recovery and increased mobility after he heals.
The 3D-printing is created by layering material in specific patterns or shapes to make an object from a digital model. Qin Minglin’s new vertebra was created from titanium powder. Amazingly, the vertebra was designed with small holes that naturally allow the boy’s bones to grow into it, which provides a permanent bond between the implant and the vertebrae surrounding it without the use of cement or screws.
Qin Minglin is said to be in good physical condition and is expected to make a strong recovery. It will be interesting to see the other implants used, as medical research and 3D-printing continue to operate in conjunction with one another.
(this is an atheism blog-idalia note)
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http://thinkinc.org.au/3d-printed-vertebrae-fixes-cancer-patients-spine/
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