In what is dubbed as a surgical marvel, a cancer patient received a rib cage completely made from titanium.
The recipient was a 54-year-old Spanish who was diagnosed with a malignant cancer that affected the sternum and rib cage. In order to control the growth of the tumors, he underwent a surgery where a significant part of the rib cage and the sternum had to be removed.
Usually, the next step is to attach prosthetics made of metallic plates to complete the chest wall. However, his surgeons thought of something different-and brilliant.
The doctors in Salamanca University Hospital wanted to create a customized rib cage and sternum using titanium, which is known in engineering to be extremely strong but lightweight. It's also a very versatile material.
To create the titanium rib cage, the hospital worked with Anatomics, whose business is to produce medical devices to both local and international clients.
Anatomics then reached out to Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Australia's science agency, which then provided the technology, a 3D printer, and access to Lab 22 in Melbourne.
According to one of the research leaders of the agency, Alex Kingsbury, they opted to use 3D printer since the device has to be properly customized for the patient's needs and body. For example, it should fit perfectly to his chest wall.
Anatomics designed the 3D device based on the high-resolution CT scans of the patient's rib cage. Based on what they created, the sternal core is going to be rigid while the rods that serve as the rib cage are partly flexible. For the printing, the 3D printer emitted an electron beam to melt the titanium powder. The same process goes on and on until multiple layers of the titanium plate is created.
The titanium rib cage has already been implanted, and the Spanish surgeons report that the patient is currently doing well.
The unique process is detailed in European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery.
