3D printing helps in limbs treatment of boy sufferings from bone cancer

Apollo Proton Cancer Centre successfully used a 3D printing technique to save the knee joint and limb of an 8-year-old boy who was suffering from bone cancer for the first time in Tamil Nadu. Akhilan, from Ramanathapuram, came to the Centre and was diagnosed with osteosarcoma of the left proximal tibia that was non-metastatic.

He underwent chemotherapy after being evaluated. The tumor was very close to the knee joint, but there was a clear area of 0.5 cm normal bone below the knee, so surgery to remove the cancerous bone was attempted to save his knee joint.

Following his evaluation, he underwent an MRI and CT scan to map out the tumor area and determine the best treatment option for effectively removing cancer. The CT and MRI images are fused using high-quality dicom imaging to create a 3-dimensional view of the tumor-bearing bone. A 3D printed cutting jig with sufficient margins allowed the surgeon to achieve pin-point accuracy in obtaining bone cut and saving the native knee joint. His bone will be able to grow normally as a result of this. The tumor-bearing bone was sterilized with a single fraction of radiation to kill the tumor cells, then re-implanted with the same bone. A 3D-printed customized plate was designed to ensure near-perfect reduction and stabilization of the bone due to the small piece of bone remaining proximally. The treatment also helped in bone cancer.

The surgery was performed by expert clinicians led by Dr. Vishnu Ramanujan, consultant, Orthopedic Oncologist, Dr Radhakrishnan Satheesan, senior consultant, Pediatric Surgeon, and radiation under Dr Srinivas Chillukuri, senior consultant- Radiation Oncology(Pediatric).

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