Modeling Success
3D printing and surgical planning are keys to a successful face and double-hand transplant.
A surgical team of 16 led by Eduardo D. Rodriguez, MD, DDS, and a support staff of 80 was in the operating room at NYU Langone Health’s Kimmel Pavilion in August 2020 when it completed the first-ever successful face and double-hand transplant. The operation took 23 hours to complete. Surgical planning was a key to its success, and imaging and 3D printing were keys to the planning, says Alyssa Glennon, principal engineer for business development at Materialise, which provided the 3D planning and printing tools.
The patient, Joe DiMeo, 22, had been critically injured in a car accident in July 2018. The accident happened on his way home from his night shift. The roll-over crash left DiMeo with third-degree burns covering 80% of his body. DiMeo was rescued from his burning car by rhythm and blues singer Ted Wizard Mills, original lead singer of the group Blue Magi