Chinese conjoined twins successfully separated with help of 3-D printing technology
Doctors in Shanghai have separated three-month-old conjoined twins – fused by soft tissues at the hip and lower spine – with the help of 3D printing technology, Xinhua reports.
The twins were born in Ganzhou city, Jiangxi province, on March 17. They had largely separate digestive systems but shared a lower intestine.
Before the surgery, the infants were pictured sharing a diaper.
To prepare for the delicate surgery, the doctors used 3D printing to construct two models of the babies’ connected parts to understand their anatomy and simulate the surgery.
The doctors then separated the twins in a five-hour procedure at the Children’s Hospital of Fudan University on Tuesday and reconstructed parts of their lower body, including the muscles around the buttocks.
Pictures from the hospital after the operation showed the round-cheeked babies fast asleep in separate cots, with tubes still attached to their bodies.
The hospital has successfully separated seven pairs of conjoined twins since 2000, according to Xinhua.
Surgeons elsewhere in the world have used artificial body parts created from 3-D printers – which function much like a household inkjet printer except they can print layers and layers of material to create a three-dimensional object.
In August last year, a Chinese farmer had a 3D-printed skull surgically attached to his head after he crushed it in a fall.
Doctors at Xijing Hospital in Xian province grafted a titanium mesh skull piece, weighing 9.9 grams, on his head during the operation, which lasted three and a half hours.
He recovered fully just weeks after the operation, restoring his original appearance.
