China toddler gets new skull using 3D printing, Asia News & Top Stories

Han Han, the girl who received the skull, had suffered so much cranial swelling as a result of her medical condition “hydrocephalus” that it was four times larger than it should have been. The rare condition had caused her skull to grow to about 20x20cm (four times the normal size) and she had begun experiencing many medical problems. The situation was improving but her skull was getting weaker.

The condition left her with a head weighing about 20 kg, while she herself weighs only 32 kg.

Unfortunately for Han Han, her family did not have the money required to pay for the treatment that she needed. Unfortunately, the originally predicted costs (400,000 to 500,000 Chinese yuan) were prohibitive for the family. “The doctor said she had hydrocephalus”.

Thanks to donations from family and friends, around 100,000 yuan was collected. It was through online donations that Youzhi was able to get his daughter the life-saving surgery that would change her life.

Going through 17 hours of surgeryHan Han following 17 hours of surgery.

“If she was not sent to hospital for treatment, Han Han would not have survived the summer. It pushes featured on the skeleton and cause extraneous drain located on the cerebrum itself.” said Chief of Pediatric Plastic Surgery, Dr. Gregory Lakin due to the University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland. It is the world’s first full skull reconstruction surgery via 3D printing technology.

Doctors said she is recovering steadily after the 3D-printed titanium alloy skull was implanted, becoming the first person to have her cranium successfully reconstructed by by 3D printers. In this procedure, it might take longer but it’s safer for infections to proceed. Then the surgeons inserted drainage tubes and pumped out the brain fluid before putting in the transplants.

They used 3D printing equipment to create a model of the girl’s skull, which they then used to design a titanium mesh to replace Han Han’s cerebral cranium, otherwise known as the part of the skull that protects the brain.

Thankfully, Han Han opened her eyes immediately and was able to breathe on her own after the surgery was complete, and she is expected to make a full recovery.

Over the course of the next few months and years, her normal bone growth should build up upon the titanium implants creating an entirely new, and smaller upper portion of her skull.