An experimental operation helped a 27-year-old Australian save a leg. Roiben Lichter suffered from a serious form of osteomyelitis and was threatened with an amputation of his leg, but the doctors suggested that he try a new method, previously tested only on animals. As a result, surgeons implanted in his leg a skeleton of tibia bone, printed on a 3D printer.
First, a three-dimensional model of the patient's tibial bone was created, then it was sent to Singapore, where the prosthesis was made of a biocompatible polymer. To successfully complete the implantation, doctors had to perform five surgeries. During the first of them, pus was pumped out of the tissues, and the next four were needed to successfully complete the operation, because it would be impossible to simply install the 3D prosthesis into place.
The new bone was covered with blood vessels and tissues taken from the patient's tibial bones and the left knee - now they are beginning to accumulate around the new bone. Doctors are confident that over time, the tissue will be able to recreate a new bone, but it will take quite a long time - a year and a half. For the time being, Roiben cannot walk and disturb his leg.
This is not the first case of replacing patient bones with a 3D prosthesis. Earlier in China, an operation was performed in which the patient was replaced by several cervical vertebrae with prostheses created using a 3D printer.
The article is based on materials .
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