Patient receives 3D printed titanium hip

The 3D printed hip was designed using the patient’s CT scan and CAD CAM file, thereby matching the patient’s exact specifications and measurements.

According to Southampton University, the implant will provide a new socket for the ball of the femur bone to enter. Doctors have also inserted a graft containing bone stem cells behind the implant and between the pelvis .

The graft is said to acts as a filler for the loss of bone, with the patient’s own bone marrow cells added to the graft to provide a source of bone stem cells to encourage bone regeneration behind and around the implant.

‘The benefits to the patient through this pioneering procedure are numerous,’ said Douglas Dunlop, consultant orthopaedic surgeon who conducted the operation at Southampton General Hospital. The titanium used to make the hip is more durable and has been printed to match the patient’s exact measurements – this should improve fit and could recue the risk of having to have another surgery. The bone graft material that has been used has excellent biocompatibility and strength and will fill the defect behind the bone well, fusing it all together.’