February 26, 2019
3D Life has created customized 3D Models for unique Bone Lengthening Procedures designed and performed by the acclaimed pediatric orthopedic surgeon Dr. Anastasios Kanellopoulos. In these technically demanding operations, the aim is to increase the length of foreshortened extremities, by effecting gradual and precisely controlled lengthening of the affected foreshortened long bones. The 3D models printed by 3D life include detailed and very precise replicas of the patients’ affected bones, as well as of the special implants which Dr. Kanellopoulos implants in the medullary cavity of the affected bone. The replicas of the bone expansion devices were printed using “reverse engineering” to confirm that they could indeed fit within the patient’s bone and to determine the precise desired position.
Using these tools, Dr. Kanellopoulos was able to preplan these unique procedures with great precision. The operations were very successful, enabling the gradual generation of new bone in the affected limbs achieving the desired length of the affected bone. Practically, this enables children who could not walk previously to now start walking normally!
The picture shows 3D printed models of a child’s tibia and the special bone expansion tool which were used in preplanning of a most successful bone lengthening operation.
