A multi-disciplinary team of doctors, which included orthopaedic and vascular surgeons and critical care specialists at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) – Delhi have successfully performed a hip joint replacement surgery using a 3D printed medical implant.
The surgery which took eight long hours was performed on April 25 on 40-year-old Amit Bahnot wherein the doctors replaced right hip joint with a near-perfect 3D printed implant.
Speaking to the Hindustan Times, Dr. Rajesh Malhotra, Professor and Head of Orthopaedic Department said, “It was a complicated surgery because his pelvic bone was badly damaged.”
“This is the first time anyone in India has used this technology to create a near-perfect implant for a patient,” added Dr. Malhotra.
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The planning for the surgery which involved a team of critical care specialists, Professor Anjan Trikha and Dr. Manpreet Kaur, and Professor of Surgery, Dr. Biplab Mishra took close to five months.
Speaking about the complications of the surgery, Professor Trikha said, “The patient lost a lot of blood during surgery and we had to transfuse about 15 units of blood and blood products. He was in the intensive care unit for three days post surgery.”
Offering more details of how the team created a near perfect implant for Bahnot, Dr. Malhotra explained, “First we modelled the defect and then modelled the implant. We kept fine tuning it and after six-seven attempts we finally got what was perfect for him”.
“Very few centres around the world use 3D printing technology for creating hip joint implants. We tried it because the patient had no other choice because of a botched up surgery in which a significant portion of his pelvic bone was removed. This made off-the-shelf implants unsuitable for Bahnot” added Dr. Malhotra when explaining why the team decided to go with 3D printing and not use off-the-shelf implants.
There are several benefits of having near perfect implants, which are possible to create using 3D printing. For example, perfect implants not only increase the longevity of the implant, but also lower its wear and tear as well.
Source: The Hindustan Times
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