A lower jaw created by a 3D printer has been fitted to an 83-year-old woman’s face in what doctors say is the first operation of its kind.
The transplant was carried out in June in the Netherlands, but is only now being publicised. The implant was made out of titanium powder – heated and fused together by a laser, one layer at a time.
The operation was performed in a hospital in Sittard-Geleen in Limburg. The jaw was made by a company called Layerwise from Leuven, Belgium, which published this video of the process:
According to De Pers, the woman got to go home after just 4 days in the hospital. She will receive matching teeth ‘soon’.
(Video: Youtube / Layerwise)