Birmingham hospital using 3D printed models to rebuild faces and jaws

Surgeons at Birmingham’s new Queen Elizabeth Hospital are improving preparation procedures for facial reconstruction surgery with a Stratasys 3D Printer.

The maxillofacial department’s in-house 3D printing capabilities enables time saving of 93 per cent in surgical planning time, and reduces theatre time by four hours, with a Stratasys PolyJet 3D printer used to construct advanced maxillofacial cutting guides and anatomical models for patients with severe conditions, including facial and cranial tumours.

Using Stratasys’ Objet Eden350V 3D Printer, surgeons report that costs are reduced of up to £20,000 per operation.

Having previously outsourced its 3D printing requirements, implementing an in-house 3D printer, with help of Tri-Tech 3D, has revolutionised pre-surgical procedures across several departments. This includes the face and jaw, burns and plastics, ear, nose and throat and neurosurgery units.

Stefan Edmondson, Maxillofacial Prosthetics Consultant at Queen Elizabeth, said: “The ability to produce lifelike medical models in-house on our Stratasys 3D Printer saves around three to four hours in OR time per surgery, which at a cost of £5,000 an hour of operating room time, is quite a substantial cost saving.”

Most of the patients currently benefiting from the hospital’s 3D printing capability are trauma and cancer patients, typically those with facial or cranial tumours. Using Stratasys 3D printing, the maxillofacial prosthetic team converts patients’ CT scans into highly accurate 3D printed replica models, bone replacement parts or metal prosthetic plates that are customised to the exact specification of each patient.

Edmondson added: “If we need to remove bone from a patient’s face, we can produce an exact 3D printed model to develop the cutting guides.

“This process results in more efficient clinical outcomes and saves the hospital, patient and medical practitioner valuable time and associated costs.”

Scott Rader, General Manager, Stratasys Healthcare, said: “The advances Queen Elizabeth Hospital is making in the use of 3D printing in surgical planning are remarkable. It is a clear demonstration of the ability for 3D printing to enable physicians to better plan, practice and determine the optimal surgical approach. In the current operating climate, physicians need solutions that can save time and money, while also improving quality of care. Queen Elizabeth’s implementation of 3D printing achieves these goals.”