3D Printing Medical Advances...HAPPENING TODAY!

Pioneering 3D printing reshapes patient's face in Wales...published today!

(IMAGE TAKEN FROM BBC LINK BELOW, BBC 2014)

A survivor of a serious motorbike accident has had pioneering surgery to reconstruct his face using a series of 3D printed parts.

 

Stephen Power from Cardiff is thought to be one of the first trauma patients in the world to have 3D printing used at every stage of the procedure.

Doctors at Morriston Hospital, Swansea, had to break his cheekbones again before rebuilding his face.

Mr Power said the operation had been "life changing".

The UK has become one of the world's pioneers in using 3D technology in surgery, with advances also being made by teams in London and Newcastle.

"I can't remember the accident - I remember five minutes before and then waking up in the hospital a few months later”

Stephen Power

While printed implants have previously been used to help correct congenital conditions, this operation used custom printed models, guides, plates and implants to repair impact injuries months after they were sustained.

Despite wearing a crash helmet Mr Power, 29, suffered multiple trauma injuries in an accident in 2012, which left him in hospital for four months.

"I broke both cheek bones, top jaw, my nose and fractured my skull," he said.

"I can't remember the accident - I remember five minutes before and then waking up in the hospital a few months later."

 

(IMAGE TAKEN FROM BBC LINK BELOW, BBC 2014)

READ THE FULL STORY ON THE BBC HERE:

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-26534408

BBC 2014;

“Pioneering 3D printing reshapes patient's face in Wales", BBC.CO.UK, 12th March 2014. Retrieved: 12th Mar. 2014 from; http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-26534408