In the past, we have seen that doctors have been able to transform the lives of many with the help of this 3D printing technology. In many cases doctors had declared that the patient’s cases were inoperable but with the usage of 3DP technology these cases became operable accompanied with a high success rate.

Similar was the case with a couple who just had a beautiful baby and in  a matter of seconds their happiness and excitement turned into helplessness and anger when they heard that their baby was born with the Sturge-Weber syndrome.

Problem:

The Sturge-Weber syndrome (SWS) is a phrase that describes a wide collection of problems that affects the skin, brain and the eyes. Those affected by this disease can be easily recognized because of the port wine birthmark that can be seen on their forehead or scalp. The birth mark is created because of the uncontrolled blood cell growth in the extra layer over the brain. This extra growth leads to seizures and fits and also cause of developmental problems.

Solution:

Dr. Hélio Rubens Machado was the doctor who had to operate on this baby. Dr. Machado with the help of 3D printing recreated the infant’s brain and used this model for practicing so that when the actual operation takes place he does not lose track. The complex parts of the brain were created by the Center for Information Technology Renato Archer (CTI), which has been specializing in making 3D printed models of various parts of human body.

Result:

Since doctors had already worked on the replica of the brain, their work became easier and they successfully removed the damaged parts. Since the operation was a huge success it proved to be a benchmark for all the other surgeries connected with the Sturge-Weber syndrome (SWS).