Practising surgery on 3D-printed ears

When creating a new ear for patients with missing or underdeveloped ears, surgeons use cartilage taken from the rib, carving an ear shape from it. Typically, a variety of different materials are used to practise the technique, including soap, vegetables and dental moulds. Using a homemade material, the UW team was able to 3D-print a more lifelike model of the rib cartilage for surgeons and trainee surgeons to practise on.

“It’s a huge advantage over what we’re using today,” said Angelique Berens, otolaryngology resident at UW and lead author of the research paper.

“You literally take a bar of Lever 2000 while the attending is operating and you carve ear cartilage. It does teach you how to get the shape right, but the properties are not super accurate – you can’t bend it, and sewing it is not very lifelike.”

The results of the study are published in an abstract that was presented this week at the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery conference in Dallas, Texas. Three experienced surgeons tested the 3D-printed cartilage against more expensive dental impression material, comparing their firmness, feel and suturing quality to real rib cartilage. All agreed that the UW material was a better proxy for real cartilage, recommending that it be introduced as a training tool.