A corset for the bronchi saved the life of the second child
The 3D-printed design saved the child's life
Copper news based on the materials of the University of Michigan:
Baby’s life saved after 3D printed devices were implanted at U-M to restore his breathingDoctors from the University of Michigan successfully performed a second operation using a biodegradable device that was implanted in the bronchi of a child with severe respiratory failure.
After installing the device, the lungs of a one-and-a-half-year-old baby began to breathe normally, and after a few months, he, who had never left the hospital walls, could be discharged home.
Garrett Peterson was born with the so–called "blue" heart defect - Fallot's notebook. He lacked a pulmonary artery valve, which exerted great pressure on the trachea and bronchi and caused softening of their tissues (tracheobronchomalacia), leading to narrowing of the airways to a small gap.
From the very birth, the child was connected to an artificial lung ventilation (ventilator), as he periodically had respiratory arrest. His condition was so unstable that his parents could not leave him even for a minute. For many months, they watched their child turn blue and stop breathing sometimes up to four or five times a day, and medical workers had to take resuscitation measures. "Any little thing could make him turn blue. Just lifting his legs to change his diaper was enough to cause a collapse in his airway," Garrett's mother said. For a long time, the child was injected with potent drugs, in addition, there was a period when doctors were forced to put him in an artificial coma.
In May last year, the Petersons read an article about the first operation with the implantation of a biodegradable device into the respiratory tract, performed by pediatric otolaryngologist Glenn Green and surgeon, professor of biomedical engineering Scott Hollister. The condition of that child, also associated with tracheobronchomalacia, stabilized and returned to normal. The Petersons decided to contact the doctors who performed that operation from the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital at the University of Michigan.
For a long time, parents and doctors assessed the possible risks and benefits of such an operation for Garrett, but in December last year, the child's condition worsened: his intestines stopped working due to the high pressure of the ventilator, and it was no longer possible to delay. Doctors urgently requested permission from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to perform an innovative operation on the child. Using high-resolution design to create a digital image of the trachea and bronchi, Hollister printed a suitable polycaprolactone biopolymer tire on a 3D printer.
On January 31, 2014, the head of the department of pediatric cardiovascular surgery, Richard Ohye, together with Green, performed an operation to apply the created splints around the bronchi of the child to support them and expand the airways. Within three years, the tire material will degrade in the baby's body; during this time, his trachea and bronchi will be able to recover and begin to develop normally.
Currently, the child's condition has stabilized, the intestines are working normally, and the child's full-fledged breathing is supported by the gradually decreasing pressure of the ventilator. And as soon as Garrett's body gets strong enough to breathe on its own all the time, he will be able to disconnect from the system and be discharged home, which is expected within the next few months.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru24.03.2014