Production of 3D-Printed Ribs with a Novel Material (nylon 680 Co-Polymer) for Chest Wall Reconstruction on a Pig Model: Preliminary Results of an Experimental Study

Aim: Three-dimensional (3D) printing has gained popularity among all fields of science in recent years. New research studies about the utilization of 3D printing in the medical field, in terms of medical devices and implants, have been published recently. We tried to adapt this technology into thoracic surgery by implanting 3D produced ribs following chest wall resection with a novel material called Nylon 680 Co-Polymer. We, hereby, present the preliminary results of this experimental study. Materials and Methods: We ordered multi detector computerized tomography of the chest for 2 pigs. We measured the area that we planned to resect on chest wall and used the data for printing custom-made rib for the reconstruction of the resected area. Then, we produced ribs with a USA Food and Drug Administration approved material called Nylon 680 Co-polymer (Taulman 3D, Saint Peters, MO, USA) by using 3D printer (Afinia H480, Chanhassen, MO, USA). Pigs were operated under general anesthesia and the resected areas were reconstructed with custom-made Results: One of the pigs passed away due to myocardial infarction while waking up from anesthesia. We followed up the other pig for 45 days. Then, we sacrificed the animal and resected the operated part for histopathological evaluation. Histopathologic evaluation revealed moderate chronic Conclusion: Although we need more studies, it is an important step for adapting 3D-printing into thoracic surgery. Additionally, it is important to identify a potential new material (Nylon 680 Co-polymer) for the future studies. We can use this new material for 3D-printed implant and mesh production, which enables us to produce custom-made products with lower cost in shorter time.