The Optimist is an advocate of natural solutions to health issues, but when new technology is able to save someone’s life with success, then it is definitely a valid reason to give that technology some attention. A neurosurgeon at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney successfully replaced two vertebrae with custom made, 3D-printed replacements in a patient suffering from chordoma, a terrible form of cancer that had formed on his top two vertebrae and threated to cinch off his spinal cord as it grew. The top two vertebrae are what allow you to turn and tilt your head, and must be the precise size to be able to function. That’s why doctors turned to a 3D printer for the solution. Two perfectly crafted replicas of the patient’s top two vertebrae were made out of titanium and installed, leaving the patient cancer-free. The surgery was a long and complicated one, and true testament to what is currently possible in the medical field.
Doctors implant 3D-printed vertebrae in ‘world’s first’ surgery
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