A team of surgeons from Clalit Schneider Children’s Medical Center and Clalit-Beilenson Hospital replaced half of a 15-year-old patient’s pelvis using a custom-designed, 3D-printed titanium and advanced polymer implant after global surgeons declared the case inoperable. 

The patient, Mark, was diagnosed with cancer for the second time at age 14 after beating the cancer he was diagnosed with at 2-years-old. His recurrence came in the form of osteosarcoma, a rare and aggressive bone cancer in his pelvic region accompanied by lung metastases. 

Mark was diagnosed where he lived in Russia, and due to the location and the spread, global specialists classified the tumor as inoperable. For osteosarcoma, complete surgical removal is critical for survival. 

Mark’s mother brought him to Israel where, after targeted chemotherapy led by Dr. Orli Michaeli, the lung metastases cleared and the primary tumor shrank. 

A joint team of surgical experts from Clalit-Schneider and Clalit-Beilinson Hospital mobilized to challenge Mark’s supposedly inoperable diagnosis. 

The team spent hundreds of hours of precise digital planning on a 19-hour procedure in which half of Mark’s pelvis was removed and replaced with a 3D-printed implant custom-designed to fit Mark’s unique anatomy. 

Implant designed to restore mobility as well as remove tumor

Dr. Arie Greenberg, Specialist in Joint Replacement and Orthopedic Oncology at Clalit-Beilinson Hospital, explained that the team’s goal was not just to remove the tumor but to restore mobility, and called the custom implant a “quantum leap in surgical oncology.” 

The implant is made of an advanced polymer that allows bone growth into the structure, he explained. 

“This was one of the most complex and challenging cases we have ever encountered,” said Dr. Israel Weiss, Head of the Orthopedic Oncology Unit at Clalit-Schneider and Clalit-Beilinson Hospitals.

“Instead of accepting that the tumor was inoperable, our cross-institutional teams combined custom 3D design and advanced printing technology to open a new horizon of possibilities. This breakthrough showcases the power of integrated expertise across our network,” he said.

Dr. Weiss highlighted the vital collaboration of key surgical leaders, including Dr. Eviatar Nesher, Head of the Transplantation Department at Clalit-Beilinson, and Prof. Yona Kosashvili, Head of the Orthopedic Department at Clalit-Beilinson.

Mark is currently recovering at Clalit-Schneider Children’s Medical Center. 

This post was originally published on here.