Surgeons at the University of Verona Hospital in Italy are using 3D printing to improve the effectiveness of severe orthopedic trauma surgeries when they are first done.
The goal is being met by using a Stratasys 3D printer to print replicas of bone fractures, which is enabling the surgeons to practice surgeries in advance, according to OrthoSpineNews.
Bones have the ability to heal themselves, but a fracture can prevent them from being set correctly. As a result, the bone will not heal the right way and the patient will experience chronic pain.
"At the moment about 20 patients have received 3D-printed replicas, especially patients with serious and articular fractures," said Dr. Nicola Bizzotto, orthopedic and trauma surgeon.
"We use 3D printing for three main purposes- educating young surgeons, surgical planning simulations and to explain serious fractures in patients."
Bizzotto has used 3D printers in the past for other medical purposes, such as creating models of a brain, a kidney and a lung, Yahoo! News reported. He is still conducting research on how improvements can be made to technology used for printing organs.
"I hope that in future, 3D printers could be used in tissue banks to give us new artificial or biological tissue [made from] a custom organ/bone architecture to implant into patients," Bizzotto said.
