3D printing used in pioneering spinal op
Print Edition
CHINESE doctors set a record during a spinal operation when they replaced five vertebrae with 3D-printed replicas.
The 3D-printed vertebrae measured 19 centimeters, the longest used in a successful operation.
The 41-year-old patient, surnamed Yuan, underwent surgery at Peking University Third Hospital on June 12, and has been able to walk by himself since the operation, doctors said.
During the six-hour procedure, the replica, made from titanium powder, was inserted into his spine to fill the void left after five tumor-affected vertebrae were removed.
Without the pioneering operation, he would likely have been paralyzed, doctors said.
On May 6, doctors had removed a tumor, along with the posterior sections of the five vertebrae. The gap was filled with titanium rods and screws — the traditional treatment.
The 3D-printed bone was used to support the spine after removal of the remaining anterior sections in the June operation. The standard solution of inserting a titanium tube into the missing section would have had major disadvantages.
The hollow titanium tube is straight and does not match human anatomical structure. It could also detach over time since the missing section of vertebrae is large, which would lead to paralysis, said chief surgeon Liu Zhongjun.
“The 3D printing technology offers a better option. It enables us to produce a replica resembling Yuan’s original bone structures, both in shape and length, and it is firm,” Liu said.
The implant also has tiny pores that allow neighboring bone cells in normal vertebrae to grow. This will help with fusion of the replica and real bones, he said.
Yuan was diagnosed with chordoma, a rare cancer that can occur anywhere in the spine and skull, in December after suffering acute lower back pain. In January, he turned to the Peking University Third Hospital, which has a research team that has studied 3D-printing for orthopedics since 2009.
Yuan, who works in catering in Beijing and has a 5-year-old daughter, said he was able to walk with crutches two weeks after surgery.
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