Rare surgery on infant using 3D printing in Delhi

NEW DELHI:  An 18-month-old infant suffering from Trigonocephaly — a rare condition in which the shape of front of the head is triangular, causing aesthetic and neuropsychological development defects — has been successfully treated by a team of doctors at Fortis, Shalimar Bagh using 3D printing technology.

A cranio-facial surgery was performed to correct the deformity by a team of doctors led by Dr Sonal Gupta, director, neuro and spine surgery, and Dr Richie Gupta, additional director, plastic, aesthetic and reconstructive surgery. “Normally, the bones forming the skull are separated by joints called sutures, which also serve as centres of growth.

"These sutures fuse at set times after birth, one of the earliest being the suture between frontal bones, the metopic suture which obliterates between 3-9 months of age. An early sutural fusion results in lack of skull growth in a direction perpendicular to the suture. However, the brain is still growing at a rapid rate during this period and needs space to do so.

"Therefore, the condition needed to be corrected, as it could hamper the neuro-psychological development of the child in addition to the obvious aesthetic defect,” said Dr Sonal Gupta. “During the actual surgery, the next day, we transferred the measurements from 3D models to patient’s skull.

"We did an entire cranio-facial remodelling by removing the frontal bones, as well as the orbital bandeau while simultaneously ensuring that the brain and eyeballs were protected. Our work with the two 3D models proved to be fruitful, enabling us to be meticulous in our execution, reducing the operative time and allowing the actual surgery to be precise,” said Dr Richie Gupta.