In Israel, a child's foot was saved thanks to a 3D-printed prosthesis
In the Israeli clinic Ichilov, a unique operation was planned and successfully performed, replacing the segment of a ten-year-old boy's foot affected by a malignant tumour with a 3D-printed implant. It became the first surgical intervention in the country using a 3D prosthesis performed on a child.
The boy, who was undergoing treatment in the pediatric hematology-oncology department of Ichilov Medical Center, was diagnosed with a rare tumour localized in the area of the midfoot, which consists of a collection of small bones in the foot situated between the leg bones. The cancer had almost completely destroyed a significant portion of the bone – in such cases, a complete amputation is usually recommended to save the life. According to the doctors, restoring the functionality of the leg after such a radical intervention is extremely difficult – the child would have been disabled for life. Moreover, over the years – considering the active growth of the skeleton – the problem would only worsen.
However, Israeli doctors found a way to avoid such a grim prospect for the boy. They modeled a bone implant taking into account the anatomical features of the small patient's foot, after which they printed it on a 3D printer. During the complex operation, brilliantly performed by surgeons from the Israeli National Center for Orthopedic Oncology, the affected fragment of bone was removed and replaced with the 3D prosthesis. Thus, the use of 3D printing allowed for the prevention of the child's limb amputation.
According to the medical professionals, in preparation for the responsible intervention, they used the latest developments in the field of biomedical engineering. The modeling of the bone implant was carried out by specialists from the 3D printing laboratory of Ichilov clinic, who created a prosthesis that perfectly matched the individual structural features of the child's foot. Israeli companies Synergy3D Med and STI Laser Industries, specializing in the development and production of 3D endoprostheses, also participated in the manufacturing of the 3D implant.
Currently, the ten-year-old boy who underwent surgery in Israel is gradually recovering – the installed prosthesis has successfully integrated, taking the place of the removed bone. He continues his course of chemotherapy at the Dana-Dwek Pediatric Center, part of the Ichilov medical complex, and, as the doctors hope, will soon be able to completely rid himself of the disease and return to his normal life.
The Medicine of the Future
The technology of 3D printing, which involves the creation of physical 3D objects using digital data, was first developed in the mid-1980s and patented two years later. Today, it is widely used not only in industry but also in medicine – primarily in transplantation for creating prostheses that replace lost bone fragments.
Modern 3D printers operate based on a pre-created digital model of the object to be manufactured. Using a raw material, which is most often a polymer mass melted at high temperatures, they build the necessary object, layer by layer, forming details according to the specified model.
For instance, earlier doctors successfully performed surgery on a resident of the Netherlands, replacing a damaged area of the skull with a plastic implant that was created using 3D printing based on the patient's tomographic images. An example of successful use of 3D printing in medicine can also be seen in the case of American actor Steven Bauer, who was injured in a serious accident, and whose shattered areas of skull bones were replaced with 3D prostheses.