3D printing recreates heart "protective case"

When the 2-year-old child Xiao Xin was born, the parents were surprised to find that the child's delicate chest was somewhat dented, the skin in the heart area was thin like a layer of paper, and the heart beat could be seenWhen your child is crying, the chest is more pronouncedWhen visiting the local hospital, the doctor said he would have to have a major operationBecause the pain of the child is too small, can not bear the heart of the first birth on the operation, the family will be small Xin back home, has been carefully carein recent months, the child's chest with the breath depression more and more serious, chest is a "gap", growth and development is also somewhat unable to keep upAt the beginning of July, the family took Xiao Xin to Wuhan Children's Hospital for medical treatmentCT tablets show that Xiao Xin's upper part of the chest bone is missing a piece, no chest bone support, when breathing movement and blood vessels beat, can clearly see the depression and protrusion, the confirmed child suffers from congenital thoracic bone fracture malformationWuhan Children's Hospital cardiothoracic surgery director DrZhai Li, chest fracture is a rare congenital malformation disease, the incidence rate in newborns less than one in 100,000Normal person's sternum can ease the impact of external forces, protect the heart and other chest organs, but Xiao Xin's chest bone is U-shaped cracking, resulting in should be like armor to protect the heart's chest bone appeared missing, chest once encountered external force impact, the heart will be directly damaged, like a "glass heart." Surgery is the only way to treat a fractured thoracic deformityexperts have developed elaborate surgical plans and contingency plans for Xiao XinThe surgical plan is two steps, first, accurately calculate the defect range, to use 3D printing to repair the defect, remodel the chest profile, and second, to wait for the thoracic bone development after a period of time, take out the "supplement", the child's cracked sternum to pull stitchesRecently, Xiao Xin successfully underwent 3D-printed thoracic implant surgery, her "glass heart" has a solid protective screenAt present, Xiao Xin recovers well after surgery.