Collin County Living Well Magazine January/February 2020 | Page 27

THE FUTURE OF 3D PRINTING
WILL INVOLVE SPINE SURGERY
Courtesy Texas Back Institute
T
here is an interesting intersection at work between the
disciplines of mechanical engineering and orthopedic
surgery. Spine surgeon Dr. Michael Hisey of Texas Back
Institute is a perfect representation of this given his under-
graduate degree in mechanical engineering and medical
specialization in orthopedic surgery. His fascination with engi-
neering continues to this day with the use of 3D printing for medi-
cal devices and its impact on improving patient outcomes.
3D Printing & Spine Surgery in Today’s Operating Room
“While it might surprise some, 3D printing has been used in spine
surgery for many years,” Hisey said. “The first use of this process was
in ‘rapid prototyping.’ Surgeons would build a plastic prototype of
the implant to ensure the design would fit and work with the other
parts of the spine.” Now, the market for 3D printing is growing rapid-
ly and the doctors of Texas Back Institute are at the forefront.
“This allows us to observe the spine in three dimensions, hold it
in our hands, and to get an accurate look at the patient’s spinal
anatomy,” Hisey said. “This technology allows for more efficiency
in ordering implants for a patient, thereby reducing the cost of the
procedure to patients and their insurers.”
What is in Store for Biomedical 3D Printing?
Once technology begins to take hold in an industry, it typically
expands exponentially, and 3D printing is no exception. “We’re
getting to the point where we can build implants with flexibility
characteristics that better match the body’s structure,” Hisey said.
“This allows the implant to work better with the patient’s bones and
avoid collapsing existing bone.
“I can also see the possibility of 3D printing a flexible disc in the near fu-
ture that would be used for replacement of damaged or diseased discs.”
According to Dr. Hisey, “We ain’t seen nothin’ yet!”
“In the next 20 years, I would expect that we would have a 3D
printer that lives in the hospital,” he said. “This would allow us to
plan the surgery the day before and then have the implant made as
we are preparing the patient for surgery. It comes out of the printer
sterilized and ready to be used for the patient. And for trauma
surgery, a patient needing an implant could be treated in minutes.
Dr. Hisey notes that the 3D printing process can now use metal,
rather than plastic. When it became possible to print a metal such
as titanium, printers could build implants with geometries that
weren’t even possible before with either molds or machining. This
allowed implants to be made with porosity (i.e. with holes in their
surface) that could never be created by standard manufacturing.
This porosity allows for better tissue integration and speeds up the
recovery time for the patient.
Another advantage of 3D printing in spine surgery is its capabili-
ty to reproduce a model of the bones and joints of the spine using
extremely accurate measurements from CT scans. A recreation of
the patient’s spine allows the surgeon to better plan the operation
and accurately predict factors such as the size of the screws and
what size implants will be needed to stabilize the bone.
“In addition, we would also have the ability to reproduce surgical
equipment or be able to reproduce broken instruments in minutes.
This reduces the number of instruments that are stored, saving mon-
ey for the patient, hospital and insurance carrier.”
Improving Outcomes
and Reducing Cost Through 3D Technology
As medical 3D printing continues to evolve, Dr. Hisey believes
we will continue to see improved patient outcomes which is a top
focus for Texas Back Institute. “Accuracy continues to improve,”
Hisey said. “Imaging has never been better and with the increase
in computational power, it will only continue to increase. 3D print-
ing will ultimately allow us to customize implants and better match
a patient’s anatomy which we expect will lead to quicker recov-
ery, more accurate correction of deformities and better relief of
symptoms. The combination of engineering, technology and med-
icine should produce better results than were previously possible.
This is truly an exciting time for surgeons and patients.”
You can connect with Dr. Michael S. Hisey via www.texasback.com
COLLIN COUNTY Living Well Magazine | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020
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