3D Printed Bone Implants Are Now Available For Patients

[Chelie]

Is there any way to create a vascularized graft with this? Like the way they do with a fibular free flap or ALT graft? I had an anterior maxillectomy and this would be so much better than having bone taken from my leg.

[overbiter]

i got one brief reply from them regarding the accessibility for patients who needs CT-Bone for cosmetic purposes only. Apparently this group of patients are their main target group and they hope to release the product in early 2016 in Europe and apply for FDA clearence in the US at the same time.

Interesting, this is exactly what I was hoping to hear. Good work skippy. Now let's just hope that surgeons update their methodology to include this new technique, and don't drag their feet like anchors in the way these guys usually do.

[overbiter]

Is there any way to create a vascularized graft with this? Like the way they do with a fibular free flap or ALT graft? I had an anterior maxillectomy and this would be so much better than having bone taken from my leg.

I think blood vessels just colonise the implant after it is put inside the body. Maybe there are ways to help this process with stem cells etc. A patient specific implant made with CT-Bone could work well for someone like you. Try emailing the company to see what they say.

[Schrödingers Jaw]

This sounds a little too good to be true, are other cosmetic surgeons taking an interest?

Surely this can't be all natural, it's still an implant after all. Will it migrate, is it susceptible to infection and will it truly be indistinguishable from real bone?

[overbiter]

This sounds a little too good to be true, are other cosmetic surgeons taking an interest?

Surely this can't be all natural, it's still an implant after all. Will it migrate, is it susceptible to infection and will it truly be indistinguishable from real bone?

It's 2015 mate, we're not living in the dark ages anymore. Take your smart phone out of your pocket, have a good look at it, and thank god you're living in the modern age.

The implant won't migrate because it fuses with the adjacent bone. It becomes real bone over time.

[Lazlo]

It's 2015 mate, we're not living in the dark ages anymore. Take your smart phone out of your pocket, have a good look at it, and thank god you're living in the modern age.

The implant won't migrate because it fuses with the adjacent bone. It becomes real bone over time.

YEAH! OVERBITER IS MY NEW FAVORITE PERSON ON THIS BLOG!!! Except for my fiancee 27f.

[osteotomy]

i got one brief reply from them regarding the accessibility for patients who needs CT-Bone for cosmetic purposes only. Apparently this group of patients are their main target group and they hope to release the product in early 2016 in Europe and apply for FDA clearence in the US at the same time.

I returned a more spesific email with questions regarding estimated costs, surgeons capable of inserting these implants, long-term effects on facial bones and tissue etc but never got any reply back...

That usually means 'will be released somewhere in 2020 or later'. It will be there, just not in 2016.

[PloskoPlus]

FWIW, multiple surgeons have told me that HA paste vascularises eventually and becomes "like your own bone".

[molestrip]

Sweet! See, I'm so glad I'm planning on waiting until 40s-50s to address that problem. By then, there will be lots of data on patients with this but I'm guessing it's gonna be good. Real good. Game changer here! Then not only will correct my deficiencies but I'll also get to dial back age somewhat, turning me from looking 60 at 50 back to 40. And reversing all the age related risk factors for having flat cheeks at the same time. f**k cost, you don't get a new face but you can always private label new items at Amazon.

Anyone know how they are fixated? Why do we need plates and screws for everything? I'll have them try and remove my hardware while they're in there. Supposedly biodegradable silk hardware should be available starting in 2020, stronger than titanium, none of the issues with existing products, and ability to deliver healing compounds to the site like BMPs. News is a few years old here, not sure why it's taking so long.

[Bobbit]

It's 2015 mate, we're not living in the dark ages anymore. Take your smart phone out of your pocket, have a good look at it, and thank god you're living in the modern age.

The implant won't migrate because it fuses with the adjacent bone. It becomes real bone over time.

Ah.... I do not think it becomes "real"  bone.     The most that is claimed is that it vascularizes.     That is hugely different from real bone.   In order to become real bone,  the implant would have to be re-absorbed.  Otherwise,  there is no room for real bone.

It does appear that at the margins where it is in contact with real bone that the real bone will infiltrate the junctions.

Regards,  George

[overbiter]

Ah.... I do not think it becomes "real"  bone.     The most that is claimed is that it vascularizes.     That is hugely different from real bone.   In order to become real bone,  the implant would have to be re-absorbed.  Otherwise,  there is no room for real bone.

It does appear that at the margins where it is in contact with real bone that the real bone will infiltrate the junctions.

Regards,  George

"Typical bone augmentation implants are made from alloplastic materials (like PEEK or titanium) or the patient’s own bone is cut and repositioned. CT-Bone® is a bone-like implant that can be 3D printed and is converted to real bone by the patient."

http://www.xilloc.com/ct-bone/

[Bobbit]

"Typical bone augmentation implants are made from alloplastic materials (like PEEK or titanium) or the patient’s own bone is cut and repositioned. CT-Bone® is a bone-like implant that can be 3D printed and is converted to real bone by the patient."

http://www.xilloc.com/ct-bone/

"As Maikel Beerens, CEO at Xilloc, said, “3D Printing of CT-Bone allows us to help even more patients with a tailor-made solution. After taking a CT-scan of the patient, a patient-specific implant is designed by our biomedical engineers in collaboration with the surgeon. This design perfectly fits on the anatomy of the patient, ensuring good bone-to-implant contact and facilitating bony in-growth.”

The material is artificially made, yet integrates with the body just as natural bone would. 3D printing it means that it can be customized to the individual patient and controlled to exhibit the same porosity as natural bone. "

That really does not sound like anybody is actually claiming that the implant will end up being re-absorbed and replaced with real bone.   The fact that it is also not supposed to be structural - -  tends to support that notion.   "... good bone -to-implant contact "  also does not suggest that the implant becomes bone.   It would REALLY be nice if it did transform itself into natural bone. 

[Schrödingers Jaw]

"As Maikel Beerens, CEO at Xilloc, said, “3D Printing of CT-Bone allows us to help even more patients with a tailor-made solution. After taking a CT-scan of the patient, a patient-specific implant is designed by our biomedical engineers in collaboration with the surgeon. This design perfectly fits on the anatomy of the patient, ensuring good bone-to-implant contact and facilitating bony in-growth.”

The material is artificially made, yet integrates with the body just as natural bone would. 3D printing it means that it can be customized to the individual patient and controlled to exhibit the same porosity as natural bone. "

That really does not sound like anybody is actually claiming that the implant will end up being re-absorbed and replaced with real bone.   The fact that it is also not supposed to be structural - -  tends to support that notion.   "... good bone -to-implant contact "  also does not suggest that the implant becomes bone.   It would REALLY be nice if it did transform itself into natural bone.

Like I said, it's a bit too good to be true. However custom implants with less complications is always good news. What would be the benefits of using this new technique over say silicon anyway?

[Lazlo]

well silicone is s**t. i assume this would be like halfway between ha paste and medpor, the advantage here is essentially that the implant could take shape into a mold and would bind or fuse to your bone, your blood cells and stuff would grow into the implant just like they do with medpor. I mean this sounds alright, i'd certainly do it if it was available cause you could at least get a very exact approximation of a true bone graft that was moldable.

[skippy]

They finally replied to my old email i sent them;

One of the major drawbacks of solid silicon implants are bone erosion and long term risk of inflammation and implant rejection, what kind of improvement could we really expect from CT-Bone regarding this?

Inflammation and rejection is always a risk when implanting something. Even when they use the patients own bone, infection or rejection can happen. CT-Bone is a more bone like material, whereas silicon is really a foreign material, so I guess our odds are better.

How realistic is your early 2016 EU- release? Should we start getting our hopes up just yet?

We are still on schedule for an early 2016 EU-release.

Would these implants be more surgically challenging to place then ordinary silicon implants? If so, will it be problematic to seek out surgeons capable of installing them?

If anything, it should be easier; we make the implants custom-made, so they should fit perfectly on the bone. Silicon implants are never adopted to the shape of the bone by my knowing. Although I can imagine that because silicon is flexible it can be squeezed through a certain incision, whereas CT-Bone is solid and the incision should be large enough. No squeezing possible. Still I think there is a different purpose: CT-Bone aims to create skeletal symmetry, whereas silicon is used more to achieve soft-tissue symmetry. They will probably co-exist.

What price bracket will CT-Bone be located in? New technology is always more expensive, how affordable will CT-bone be compared to custom -made solid silicon implants?

I don’t know yet what custom-silicon implants cost. Ballpark figure: I expect facial CT-Bone implants to be between 4.000 and 10.000 €. Is that affordable in your opinion? Maybe I should ask your audience what they would be willing to pay.