South African surgeon Mashudu Tshifularo, a professor at the university of Pretoria made history by performing the world’s first 3D-printed middle-ear transplant/ replacement surgery.
Tshifularo used innovative 3D technology to print the bones that make up the middle ear (hammer, anvil, stirrup and the ossicles) and successfully implanted the model into a trauma patient.
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Mashudu Tshifularo told Good things guy that, “By replacing only the ossicles that aren’t functioning properly, the procedure carries significantly less risk than known prostheses and their associated surgical procedures. We will use titanium for this procedure, which is bio-compatible. We use an endoscope to do the replacement, so the transplant is expected to be quick, with minimal scarring,”
Tshifularo has other historical achievements in his medical career like developing a surgical technique that allowed for a bloodless endoscope-assisted tonsillectomy. Also a world’s first.
Source: Afrotech, Good Things Guy