Three-year-old Hanhan from China underwent surgery to treat congenital hydrocephalus, a condition where fluids build up around the brain, according to the website 12newsnow.com.
Doctors used a 3-D printed titanium implant to reshape the toddler’s skull after the rare birth defect left her head triple its normal size, according to ABC News.
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Hanhan was reportedly treated at the People’s Hospital of Hunan Province, according to Getty. Doctors reportedly decide to use a 3-D implant if they determine that the patient’s bone isn’t strong enough to use for the surgery, according to Dr. Gregory Lakin, Chief of Pediatric Plastic Surgery at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland.
“They can be made and off the shelf and it’s faster,” explained Lakin.
The implant could reportedly be used because Hanhan’s brain would be almost done growing and the implant would likely not affect further growth. Without the operation to properly drain the fluid for the young girl’s brain, Hanhan may have experienced permanent brain damage due to the pressure being put on her brain.
“The brain will get thinner and stretched out,” stated Lakin.
“Some of these kids are bedridden because they can’t move. This [operation] gives the kid a more normal life to go out and play.”
