Medical professional all over the world are now acknowledging the benefits of using 3D printers in the medical industry. For instance, one surgeon from India named Dr. Vaibhav Bagaria used 3D printing to reduce surgical risks and also allow his patients to save money for their treatment.

Dr. Bagaria used 3D printing to help him perform surgery on a young patient with fractured acetabulum and pelvic ring. Conventional surgery puts the patient at risk because it involves huge blood loss. However, he and his team used 3D printing to reduce the many risk factors by creating a surgical tool. Called 3D POST, Dr. Bagaria first too a CT scan of the fracture to create a model of the patient’s pelvis. Then, he used the model to create a 7-hole reconstruction plate specific for the patient. The model was then used by the surgeon for surgical simulation before proceeding to the actual operation.

3D bioprinting has helped the team of Dr. Bagaria to plan ahead prior to operation which is something conventional surgical methods cannot do. The surgery was very successful and, as expected, the surgical time was reduced to half and the blood loss was also minimal. Moreover, the amount of anesthesia injected to the patient was also reduced.

The procedure proved that 3D printing is really helpful in aiding surgeons perform surgery efficiently without putting the patient into a lot of risks. Currently, Dr. Bagaria and his team is using the 3D printed models as an educational tool for all their residents. Hopefully, this procedure will become a mainstay in many hospitals in India.