3D printing enabled doctors to save the lives of babies suffering from terminal form of tracheobronchomalacia, which causes the windpipe to periodically collapse and prevents normal breathing.
3D printing is one of the new technologies that surfaced in recent years that will have profound impact in the future and already can be life-changing today. Doctors at the University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital have been able to save the life of three babies suffering from a terminal form of tracheobronchomalacia, which causes the windpipe to periodically collapse and prevents normal breathing.
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There was no cure and life-expectancies were grim before using a small 3D printed structure, a so called splint. The 3D printed devices help keep their airways open, restored their breathing and saved their lives.
“These cases broke new ground for us because we were able to use 3D printing to design a device that successfully restored patients’ breathing through a procedure that had never been done before,” says senior author Glenn Green, M.D., associate professor of pediatric otolaryngology at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital.
“Before this procedure, babies with severe tracheobronchomalacia had little chance of surviving. Today, our first patient Kaiba is an active, healthy 3-year-old in preschool with a bright future. The device worked better than we could have ever imagined. We have been able to successfully replicate this procedure and have been watching patients closely to see whether the device is doing what it was intended to do. We found that this treatment continues to prove to be a promising option for children facing this life-threatening condition that has no cure.”
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More details on this medical success story using 3D printing can be found here. The University takes donations to support this research in the 3D-Printed Airway Splint Fund.