3D Printer Improves Op

A 3D-printed windpipe was used to improve a surgical operation involving a six-year-old girl at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital.

16:41 22 September 2015

Six-year-old Katie Parke, who suffers from pulmonary alveolar proteinosis, which means grainy deposits build up in the microscopic air sacs in her lungs, have undergone a procedure which involved the use of a 3D-printed windpipe. It allowed doctors to pick the correct tools needed to wash her lungs. As a result, Katie spent less time under anaesthetic and being ventilated.

 

Katie’s lungs required to be washed with saltwater on a regular basis, as it is the only way to remove the deposit. During the operation, one of her lungs is ventilated while the other is being cleaned. To avoid wasting time on trying multiple combinations of different-sized tubes, the surgeons decided to use the 3D-printed windpipe, allowing them to select the tools they needed ahead of the operation.

 

Katie's mum, Sharon Parke, said: "It's amazing to see what a tiny bit of kit can do. Katie's had brilliant treatment at Great Ormond Street and now she can even go horseriding, which was unthinkable before."

 

Owen Arthurs, a consultant radiologist who organised the study, told the BBC News website: "We can look at a 3D reconstruction on a computer, but this takes it into a whole new dimension.

 

"Being able to hold it in your hand makes the procedure much easier and safer."

 

Dr Arthurs added: "It could also be used to make training better, being able to print a part of the anatomy is quite powerful. It's really important to train the next generation of doctors and make them better."