3D Printing Gave This Man His Face And His Life Back

Its hardly a secret that doctors have experimented in the past with 3D printed prosthetics. For one man though, 3D printing became the only way to get his life back. Eric Moger had a surgery four years ago to remove a tumor, the size of a tennis ball, from the left side of this face. Removing the tumor meant removing the entire left side of the face as well. His looks weren’t the only thing that were compromised. Ever since the surgery he’s had tubes going directly in to his stomach for eating and drinking. One can’t even possibly imagine the agony that Eric must go through each day.

In what is being touted as the first procedure of its kind, doctors formed a digital blueprint of what his face should look like, based on CT and facial scans of the remainder of his skull. The facial prosthetic was then printed. It looks incredibly lifelike and fits perfectly. The procedure gave Eric his face, and his life back. He is now able to eat and drink normally again. Doctors hope that techniques will be developed which would allow printing in silicone. This is a major breakthrough and it definitely will make a lot of lives better.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Medical
Tags: 3D Printing