Chinese patient implanted 3D printed vertebrae

In the spring of 28-year-old resident of Shanghai was diagnosed with chondrosarcoma, a bone cancer. In the survey it was decided to do the surgery, but the matter was complicated by a number of factors. However, Chinese experts have made progress in her treatment and even replaced all six of her vertebrae affected by cancer by printing them for a replacement on a 3D printer.
 
To print artificial bones and the surgery was not so easy, because the prosthesis had to accurately repeat the shape of these vertebrae. In addition, there was the possibility that the operation will not entirely successfully — among the side effects of the surgery, the doctors called paralysis and other nasty things. The task was complicated by the fact that the patient was overweight, her neck is short, and the tumor itself was very close to the important arteries.
 
Prostheses with a porous structure printed from a titanium alloy, removed the affected vertebrae and then replaced them with new ones. Now the patient is recovering from two phases of the operation, which lasted 13 hours. The head it still does not turn, but can walk.

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