Ahead of every complicated surgery, surgeons study a vast array of slides and sheets in the form of X-Ray, CT and MRI scans, ECG, etc., and discuss the imaging data with other experts to plan the procedure. 

Even with all these data and discussions, surgeons need to dig deep into their years of experience to draw an educated guess about what they are going to confront till the moment the incision is made and the part that is to be operated upon is revealed to them.  

Now, imagine converting the scanning data from 2D slides to an exact replica of the body part, which the doctors could study up and close so as to plan the whole procedure. That is the promise offered by 3D printing, once a niche of the geeks before being integrated into almost every conceivable field, including medicine.

The idea is to produce patient-specific models ahead of surgery so as take a closer look at a specific anatomy of a particular patient, said Dr Brijesh P Kottayil, consultant, Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi. “In India, 3D printing in the field of medicine was introduced only around two years ago. 

It was used only in cardiac surgeries initially, but is now being used in orthopaedic, neuro and maxillofacial surgeries,” said Dr Kottayil, an early proponent of the technology. The Institute was the first in the country to perform a surgery using the technology and was also the first to start an in-house facility. 

“Using CT or MRI scan of a patient, 3D printing technology can give the doctors an exact replica of the patient’s heart in their hand, which can be observed and understood before the patient’s chest is actually cut open for the surgery,” explained Hari Krishnan, a member of the team at Amrita. He should know. When he was diagnosed with an extremely complicated cardiac condition in 2015, many hospitals refused to perform the surgery due to the risks involved. 

The doctors at Amrita made use of ‘virtual 3D visualisation’ technology to plan the procedure well so as to avoid all small but potentially fatal missteps they might take. The surgery was not just successful, the doctors needed 30 per cent less time to finish it. A better prepared surgeon would reduce the time patients have to remain under anaesthesia, less time the incision is kept open and also cut down on the time they spend inside the operation theatre, said Hari Krishnan. “Then, we potentially have a better surgical outcome,” he added. 

Medical professionals like Dr Mahesh Kappanayil, professor of Paediatric Cardiology, who is in charge of 3D printing at Amrita Institute, are studying more to quantify the benefits of using 3D printing in surgeries. 

“Surgeons unanimously claim that it makes complicated surgeries easier. As doctors understand the structure better, the surgery time and the possibilities of intra operational accidents are reduced, minimises blood loss and also post-operative recovery time,” he said. 

A group that is particularly excited about the technology are the paediatric cardiologists who are often called to perform complicated and extremely risky surgeries, most of them open-heart. “3D printing has, however, made complex heart surgeries more precise,” said Dr Krishna Kumar, another Paediatric Cardiologist.