Tantalum Knee
Surgeons transplanted a knee joint with printed bone tissue to a patient for the first time
The world's first knee joint surgery using 3D printing technologies of bone tissue was performed in the city of central subordination of Chongqing (China). When creating new tissues for an 84-year-old patient, a rare metal tantalum was used. This is reported by the information portal China.org .
According to the doctors, the operation was successful. The man was able to perform the basic movements of the "new" knee on his own on the first day after surgery. The patient is expected to be discharged in four to five days.
Researchers note that today the incidence of arthritis among people aged 50 to 59 years has reached 62%. The most serious cases require a knee joint transplant, but it's not that simple. Traditional operations entail certain risks, besides ready-made implants of standard sizes have to be "customized" for each patient. 3D printing provides a more personalized approach, experts say.
"A complete knee replacement is the most effective way to treat late–stage knee diseases, as it can reduce pain for patients and improve their quality of life," explains Professor Yang Liu from Chongqing Municipal Hospital, where the operation was performed.
Knee joint replacement operations are carried out in the world all the time. However, due to postoperative infections and other complications, various defects often occur in the bone tissue surrounding the joints. The production of individual tantalum implants designed with the help of computer design, which play the role of a kind of buffer between the artificial joint and living tissues, helps to solve this problem.
Tantalum, by the way, is traditionally used in dentistry and the manufacture of surgical implants, since it is practically not rejected by the living tissue of the body. However, until now, surgeons have preferred metal implants made of titanium alloy, since the melting point of tantalum is too high for the production of most 3D printers on the market.
But in the end, the advantages of tantalum still outweighed. The fact is that printed tantalum joints have a high density, which guarantees stability in use, simplifies the transplant process itself and reduces the risk of complications. Therefore, doctors decided to create a knee joint from this metal, according to the Chinese news channel CGTN.
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