3D printing a new jaw

Cleveland, Ohio – Syrian man whose face was blown off in civil war receives 3D printed jaw implant.

As he stood on a Syrian street in his civil war-ravaged country, a 23-year-old man was suddenly dropped to the ground as a rifle round shattered his lower jaw and blew his teeth to bits.

The patient was rushed across the Syria-Israel border crossing to the Rambam Health Care Campus – Hospital, where he arrived in critical condition. The bullet had completely destroyed his lower jaw and rendered him unable to speak or eat – and it left him with little prospect of leading a normal life in the future.

But this case was different due to advances in 3D printing technology and design.

After emergency treatment stabilized the patient’s condition, he was sent to the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery where doctors immediately began the process of designing the reconstruction of the underlying structure of his jaw.

Read the full article on 3Dprint.com's website by TE Edwards.