3D printing enables boy to stand

A six-year-old boy suffering from brittle bone disease can stand again as a result of surgery using 3D technology

Doctors carried out China’s first orthopaedic surgery using 3D technology on a six-year-old who had suffered multiple fractures in his legs.

Brittle bone disease or osteogenesis imperfect, is a congenital disorder caused by a genetic mutation that affects the body’s production of collagen found in bones. It can cause bone deformities, breaks, fatigue and muscle weakness.

Treatments include physical therapy, medication to strengthen bones and orthopaedic surgery however, there is currently no cure.

Dr To Kai-tsun, a consultant surgeon of orthopaedics and traumatology at the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, said: "Due to severe malformation, even making a standard X-ray film became impossible, which made it very difficult to work out an operational plan for him."

Doctors used a 3D-printed model of the skeleton to examine the patient’s illness precisely and establish where to cut the bones in advance, minimising the operating time and pain caused to the patient.

After making incisions surgeons reconnected the bone tissue using rods.

The 3D skeleton at the centre of the surgery was produced by the Shenzhen Sunshine Laser and Electronics Technology company.