Paralysed man takes first steps after 3D-printed spinal implant operation

Chinese surgeons have performed a pioneering operation which has allowed a paralysed man to walk again.

The patient's name is Mr Yuan and he had been left unable to walk after doctors removed a malignant tumour on his spine - along with a large chunk of backbone.

He's been offered new hope after surgeons used 3D printing to produce an implant which plugged the gap and should allow spinal tissues to slowly grow back.

Mr Yuan has already taken his first steps and is expected to make a full recovery, despite his previously grave condition.

"I would not have recovered without 3D printing,” said Mr. Yuan.

A team led by Dr. Liu Zhongjun, chief orthopaedics surgeon at the Beijing University, sliced out five vertebrae and then replaced them with a 19 centimetre artificial replacement.

This implant was made from a titanium mesh designed to allow his natural spinal cord to regenerate.

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“The titanium mesh tube can be any length, even shorter than 19 centimetres,” Dr Zhongjun explained.

“3D printing can produce implants of whatever size and shape.

“Our prognosis is that the patient will have a full recovery."

Last year, an Australian man underwent similar surgery.

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Surgeon Ralph Mobbs removed two cancerous vertebrae and replaced them with implants which were also made from titanium.

He even practiced the surgery on a three dimensional model of his patient's head, because one slip would have left the man paralysed.

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The technique of 3D printing is expected to revolutionise healthcare, eventually allowing doctors to print out replacement body parts.

British surgeons recently used 3D printing to produce a representation of a man's cancerous prostate, which was then used during the operation to guide a robot which performed highly accurate surgery which removed the risk of human error.

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