Collin County Living Well Magazine May/June 2020 | Page 46

THE FUTURE OF 3D PRINTING WILL INVOLVE SPINE SURGERY
Courtesy Texas Back Institute
T
“I can also see the possibil-
ity of 3D printing a flexible
disc in the near future that
would be used for replace-
ment of damaged or dis-
eased discs.”
here is an interest-
ing intersection at
work between the
disciplines of me-
chanical engineer-
ing and orthopedic surgery.
Spine surgeon Dr. Michael
Hisey of Texas Back Institute
is a perfect representation
of this given his undergrad-
uate degree in mechanical
engineering and medical
specialization in orthopedic
surgery. His fascination with
engineering continues to this
day with the use of 3D print-
ing for medical devices and
its impact on improving pa-
tient outcomes.
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 treat-
ed in minutes.
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 pro-
cess was in ‘rapid prototyping.’ Surgeons
would build a plastic prototype of the im-
plant to ensure the design would fit and work
with the other parts of the spine.” Now, the
market for 3D printing is growing rapidly
and the doctors of Texas Back Institute are
at the forefront.
Dr. Hisey notes that the 3D printing pro-
cess can now use metal, rather than plas-
tic. 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 ma-
chining. This allowed implants to be made
with porosity (i.e. with holes in their sur-
face) that could never be created by stan-
dard 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 capability to reproduce a
model of the bones and joints of the spine
using extremely accurate measurements
from CT scans. A recreation of the pa-
tient’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 stabi-
lize the bone.
“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 anat-
omy,” 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 collaps-
ing existing 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 money 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. “Imag-
ing has never been better and with the in-
crease in computational power, it will only
continue to increase. 3D printing will ulti-
mately allow us to customize implants and
better match a patient’s anatomy which we
expect will lead to quicker recovery, more
accurate correction of deformities and bet-
ter relief of symptoms. The combination
of engineering, technology and medicine
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
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COLLIN COUNTY Living Well Magazine | MAY/JUNE 2020