3D-printed human organs helping UAE doctors

This content was originally posted in 7DAYS UAE website at: 3D-printed human organs helping UAE doctors 3D printed models of human organs are helping doctors in the UAE capital transform surgery and cut operation times for children and adults. Surgeons at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC) are utilising the latest technology to practise on sophisticated replicas ahead of real deal, with the aim of reducing time on the operating theatre and the risk of complications. The centre has now started employing 3D medical image-based engineering to rehearse complex operations, speeding up surgeries and saving lives following a successful trial operation in June. And doctors using the technology believe it is a huge step for surgeons. “Preoperative planning will never be the same,” said Dr Laszlo Kiraly, consultant and division head for paediatric cardiac surgery at SKMC, which is managed by Cleveland Clinic and is a part of the SEHA HealthSystem. “We now completely rehearse what we want to do, and we do it in a pressure-free environment that allows us to draw on global experience. This 3D engineering has made our team not only more confident but more effective, as we are now speeding up surgical times and saving lives.” Dr Alawi Alsheikh Ali, consultant cardiologist, added: “The life-size, printed 3D model of the heart is used to plan intricate, detailed steps of the operation and this translates into improved patient safety and outcomes.” Dr Alsheikh Ali added: “3D printed models have become an important modality in our profession.” The printing process has three steps. First, surgeons take MRI or CT scans of the organ, then they convert these into a set of blueprints a 3-D printer can read. In the last stage, the printer builds the model. In addition to planning, it can be a vital tool in training surgeons of the future, experts have said. According to the Boston’s Children Hospital, surgical time is reduced by at least 12 per cent (30 minutes of an average surgery) with the help of 3D models, which highly benefits children, especially those sensitive to anaesthetic. The first patient treated in Abu Dhabi using the technology was a young girl aged five months, who had a hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), where the left ventricle of the heart is very underdeveloped and unable to pump blood to the body. After an initial surgery in the girl’s first weeks of life, she underwent a second stage of surgery at five months old, with surgeons using the lifesaving 3D technology in preparation. Fatal heart diseases such as HLHS demand the best quality of medical imaging for the planning of paediatric open-heart surgery, added Dr Alsheikh Ali, who is the chair of the Cardiac Sciences Institute at the hospital. mahak@7days.ae Read the original story at: 3D-printed human organs helping UAE doctors