Doctors reconstruct accident victim's face with 3D printed parts

Doctors used a series of 3D printed parts to reconstruct the face of a serious motorbike accident.

Stephen Power from Cardiff is believed to be one of the first patients in the world to have 3D printing used at every stage of his operation, the BBC reported.

Doctors at Morriston Hospital, Swansea, had to break his cheekbones again to rebuild his face.

In order to restore the symmetry of his face, the team of doctors used CT scans to create and print a symmetrical 3D model of Power's skull, followed by cutting guides and plates printed to match.

The operation took eight hours to complete, with the surgical team having to re-fracture the cheek bones with the cutting guides before remodelling the face.

A medical-grade titanium implant, printed in Belgium, was used to hold the bones in their new shape.