Samuel Adams, MD, an orthopedic surgeon with Duke Medicine, used a 3-D printed bone implant to save a woman's leg from amputation, according to Duke Medicine's Blog.
Here are five takeaways:
1. The patient injured her left leg and needed emergency surgery after a head-on collision.
2. Dr. Adams is a foot and ankle specialist.
3. He recommended developing a 3-D printed custom bone implant to support the severely damaged bones of the patient.
4. Dr. Adams explained the machine 3-D prints a titanium cage to replace the missing bone, which acts like a set of scaffolding that evenly distributed forces around the entire leg, supporting the remaining bone and replacing the missing bits.
5. This 3-D bone implant is FDA approved and capable of revolutionizing the way patients with severe leg trauma can be treated.