Ossis’s first patient – whom the company believes was the first in the world to receive a 3D printed titanium implant – is fit and well, with the bone fully healed seven years after her operation.
According to Madeleine Martin, Ossis general manager, there is an escalating demand worldwide for joint replacement and revision surgeries. “People are requesting joint replacements at a younger age, and with increasing functional expectations post-surgery. Age, genetics and obesity are not the only factors that can initiate progressive wear and tear on our bones and joints; our more extreme lifestyles often result in trauma.”
“Instead of surgeons piecing together off-the-shelf products during an operation and cutting away valuable bone to make an implant fit, we can work with surgeons to design the perfectly fitting implant prior to the operation. We then create an exact plastic model of the implant on our 3D printer to allow the surgeon to practise on and refer to in surgery. This process significantly reduces the operation time and makes life a lot easier for the surgeon. Nearly all of these extremely complex salvage procedures have been successful or highly successful as measured by patient satisfaction, and the patient and clinical outcomes are excellent with faster recovery times and reduced post-op care and revisions.”
