A BBC presenter holds up the 3D printed replica of Mina's heart with the hole in the middle the defect for which she had undergo surgery. PHOTO: BBC SCREENGRAB
LONDON: A two-year old Briton underwent a successful surgery on the hole in her heart thanks to a 3D printed model of the defect, the BBC reported on Tuesday.
While heart surgeries to repair holes in the heart are not uncommon, a doctor in King’s College in London created 3D printed plastic model of two-year old Mina’s heart and the defect, which allowed surgeons to perform a successful surgery.
Dr Tarique Hussain said that after doctors in Manchester created images of Mina’s heart using CT scans, he “segmented it out and got it into format using special software suitable for printing” a 1:1 life-sized representation model to show surgeons just where and of what size was the defect.
“A lot of people looked at it (defect) and every one was ... actually when it is in the hands of the surgeon he can say ‘I can do this, ’and he has the confidence going into the operation: ‘I know what this is, what I am looking for.”
Mina’s mother Natasha said that the defect had been detected in the 26-week scan, well before birth.
“After she was born, she was fine and they saw she had a 50% chance of living but needed breathing support.”
She said that Mina was kept in the hospital for three months during which period the little girl was sick a lot and did not put on weight. “She hardly woke up and had to be fed through a nasal tube.”
But after the operation, Natasha says that Mina “is great!”
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The value they attach to human life I came across a tragedy I would call it a few days ago wherein an IDP girl died after a surgery by doctors in Peshawar. The little girl named reshma had a hole in her heart. The parents were told she was unsurvivable. Her legs were almost numb and her lips and eyes were sort of no blood in it. Apparently the doctors wanted to restore blood supply to the body parts short of it through a valve by-pass surgery. It was done successfully and the targeted body parts started to show positive results. Then a few days after surgery she coughed pushing the valve out of its place and that was it. She would have lived longer had those doctors forethought of this complication and had the valve secure enough to bear the pressure of coughing. The girl was just so wishful of living longer and playing with her friends and always asked her mother if she will recover? Only if doctors would have helped her proper and if they would have attached as much importance to her life as of Mina!
Boy! Only qayamat will stop the advancement of technology... till then, sky is the limit!
Faith in humanity restored! Alhamdullilah! :)