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Cancer Patient Receives 3D-Printed Titanium Sternum and Ribs

Posted by samzenpus on from the we-can-rebuild-him dept.

An anonymous reader writes: A Spanish cancer patient diagnosed with chest wall sarcoma has received the world's first 3D printed titanium sternum and rib cage. Anatomics, an Australian medical device company, designed and manufactured the metal rib cage. Cnet reports: "Once printed, finished and polished, the implant was couriered to the Salamanca University Hospital, where it was implanted into the patient's chest. It has now been two weeks since the surgery, and the patient has been discharged is recovering well."

9 of 38 comments (clear)

  1. XMen by brunes69 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Sounds like this guy is 20% on the way to becoming wolverine. Just needs to replicate this procedure with his arms, spine, and skull...!

  2. Not impressed by PopeRatzo · · Score: 4, Funny

    Titanium sternum? That's nothing. I had an aunt with a cedar chest.

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
    1. Re:Not impressed by PopeRatzo · · Score: 3, Funny

      Also, I remember overhearing my dad talking about a guy with brass balls.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
  3. Re:Adamantium next? by peragrin · · Score: 3, Funny

    Not for a while yet. Adamantium has to be processed and kept hot until forming. If you think ink jets get clogged easily you haven't seen adamantium yet.

    --
    i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
  4. Great tech, but awful picture by rmdingler · · Score: 2
    Imagine having to replace your entire rib cage because it is cancer-ridden. =Gee-zus!

    My Monday is looking up.

    --
    Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

    Ernest Hemingway

    1. Re:Great tech, but awful picture by Nidi62 · · Score: 2

      Imagine having to replace your entire rib cage because it is cancer-ridden. =Gee-zus!

      On the bright side, think of the bar bets he can win now. "Bet you $100 you can stab me in the chest and it won't even hurt me."

      --
      The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
  5. Thanks socialized medicine. by tekrat · · Score: 2, Interesting

    And this person paid probably less than $10,000 for this operation, whereas, in the United States, with the greatest healthcare system in the world, the person would have simply died because he couldn't afford the $2 million pricetag.

    --
    If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.
    1. Re:Thanks socialized medicine. by kasparov · · Score: 4, Informative

      > On $180k income, Australian's pay 50% taxes whereas American's only pay 28%. No, they don't. This grossly overstates how much is paid. They pay almost 45% on every dollar *over* $180k + the tax from the various income brackets below. At $180k, they would have an effective overall tax rate of 30.3%. The amount of tax paid asymptotically approaches 45% as their income approaches infinity.

      --
      There's no place I can be, since I found Serenity.
    2. Re:Thanks socialized medicine. by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 2

      "It would cost the same in Australia as it does America, the difference is only whether the persons Insurance program pays for it or your neighbors do through taxes."

      Not quite. In the US we pay a lot more because of the monopoly nature of medicine.

      Furthermore, the Australian and Canadian government medical systems save a lot by operating as one big buyer, negotiating for the best price. It is illegal for American governmental health programs, such as Medicare or Obamacare, to negotiate on price. Medicare can 'negotiate' only by refusing to cover high-priced medication and procedures, while Obamacare is required to pay retail for everything. This was the price of getting it passed.