A team of surgeons from the Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York-Presbyterian practiced fixing a congenital condition on a 3D-printed model of a baby boy's heart before the actual procedure.

The baby's heart condition was complicated, with both the pulmonary arteries and the aorta stemming from the right ventricle. A large hole was also present in the beating organ.

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Since the baby's heart was as small as a walnut, a CT scan performed by the doctors to help figure out the surgical plan was not enough.

The scans, though, were helpful in recreating a model of the baby's heart, which was ordered from Cardiovascular Business Development Manager Todd Pietila at Materialise and funded by Matthew's Hearts of Hope. By using the Mimics Innovation software at Materialize, Pietila manufactured a 3D model of the heart, including the structure and defects, in accurate detail.

After two days, the team had a replica of the heart that was 3D printed from a flexible material that could be manipulated and cut, letting the surgeons devise a plan to fix all of the defects of the heart in a single surgery, rather than three or four.

The operation on the baby, who was just one week old, was a success, setting the little boy on a path to a long and happy life.

"The baby's heart had holes, which are not uncommon with CHD, but the heart chambers were also in an unusual formation, rather like a maze," said congenital heart surgeon and Director of Congenital and Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Dr. Emile Bacha . "In the past, we had to stop the heart and look inside to decide what to do. With this technique [using a 3D printed model], it was like we had a road map to guide us."

Tags3D Printing, 3D, Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York-Presbyterian, Matthew's Hearts of Hope