Tuesday, 21 July 2015

PHOTOS: Baby With Giant Head Becomes World’s First Person To Have 3D Printed Skull

Pic shows: The toddler before the surgery. A three-year-old girl suffering from a medical condition that caused her head to swell to four times the normal size has been brought back from the brink of death thanks to ground breaking surgery and the generous donations of thousands in the country. Brave Han Han, was born with a condition known as congenital hydrocephalus, which caused a build up of excess cerebrospinal fluid in the brain that required the urgent attention of doctors in Changsha, capital of central China’s Hunan Province. Known as the "Big Head Girl" to her friends and family because of the symptoms of the rare condition, which saw her head grow 20 x 20 centimetres, Han Han began experiencing many medical problems. Her abnormally large skull caused severe pressure in her head, poor blood supply, as well as ulcers growing on thin portions of her head. However, despite warnings by doctors that her skull could rupture at any moment, and her diagnosis six months after her birth, Han Han’s family was unable to let her undergo surgery due to serious financial constraints. Han Han’s single father Chen Youzhi worked tirelessly to earn money to buy the anti-inflammatory drugs she needed, but Han Han eventually reached a point where she found it hard to lift her head, which was heavier than half her entire body weight. The pressure in her skull also threatened to blind her as her optic nerve was squeezed hard by the weight. Bedridden since September 2014, doctors estimated it would cost between 41,000–51,000 GBP to cure her, with Han Han’s family only managing to beg and borrow a fifth of that amount from relatives and friends. But thanks to an impressive charity campaign on the Chinese Internet, thousands began donating money and in the end raised funds required for her treatment. Doctors at in the provincial capital’s Second People’s Hospital prepared Han Han for what was to be a ground breaking surgery by helping her gain weight as soon as she was checked in. Dr. Bo of the hospital said: "CT scans showed that 80 per cent of Han Han’s brain was already filled with water." He added that Han Han "would not have survived the summer," had she not been taking to the hospital for treatment. Dr. Bo continued: "The first step was to eliminate the infection in Han Han’s head, after which we did a skin graft and inserted a shunt to help remove the fluid inside." Doctors elected to perform a life-saving surgery never before done, translated from Chinese as "whole brain shrinking plastic surgery", which involved the removal of Han Han’s entire scalp. A full 3D reconstruction and printing of Han Han’s skull was then done in the form of three titanium mesh skull implants, which together replaced the entire top portion of her head after doctors repositioned her brain and removed all excess cerebrospinal fluid in the surgery that lasted some 17 hours. Doctors said that they expect Han Han to make a full recovery, and that over the course of the next months and years, Han Han’s normal bone growth will build up and cover the titanium implants to create an entirely new – and smaller – top portion of her skull. (ends)

A three-year-old has become the first person in the world to have entire skull reconstructed by 3D printers, in central China’s Hunan Province.  Han Han or the big-head baby was born with hydrocephalus – a rare condition causing  excessive fluid in the brain’s chamber, damaging it. The girl condition was so serious her skull three-four times larger than it should have been, but for the operation she could have go blind or even have maggots in her head.  

PicMonkey Collage

At the moment of the surgery the girl’s head measured 20cmx20cm and weighed more than half of her body weight. The doctors even warned that her skull could rupture at any moment if nothing is done as soon as possible. Fortunately, Han underwent a 17-hour successful surgery and is now expected to make a recovery. 

Pic shows: The toddler before the surgery. A three-year-old girl suffering from a medical condition that caused her head to swell to four times the normal size has been brought back from the brink of death thanks to ground breaking surgery and the generous donations of thousands in the country. Brave Han Han, was born with a condition known as congenital hydrocephalus, which caused a build up of excess cerebrospinal fluid in the brain that required the urgent attention of doctors in Changsha, capital of central China’s Hunan Province. Known as the "Big Head Girl" to her friends and family because of the symptoms of the rare condition, which saw her head grow 20 x 20 centimetres, Han Han began experiencing many medical problems. Her abnormally large skull caused severe pressure in her head, poor blood supply, as well as ulcers growing on thin portions of her head. However, despite warnings by doctors that her skull could rupture at any moment, and her diagnosis six months after her birth, Han Han’s family was unable to let her undergo surgery due to serious financial constraints. Han Han’s single father Chen Youzhi worked tirelessly to earn money to buy the anti-inflammatory drugs she needed, but Han Han eventually reached a point where she found it hard to lift her head, which was heavier than half her entire body weight. The pressure in her skull also threatened to blind her as her optic nerve was squeezed hard by the weight. Bedridden since September 2014, doctors estimated it would cost between 41,000–51,000 GBP to cure her, with Han Han’s family only managing to beg and borrow a fifth of that amount from relatives and friends. But thanks to an impressive charity campaign on the Chinese Internet, thousands began donating money and in the end raised funds required for her treatment. Doctors at in the provincial capital’s Second People’s Hospital prepared Han Han for what was to be a ground breaking surgery by helping her gain weight as soon as she was checked in. Dr. Bo of the hospital said: "CT scans showed that 80 per cent of Han Han’s brain was already filled with water." He added that Han Han "would not have survived the summer," had she not been taking to the hospital for treatment. Dr. Bo continued: "The first step was to eliminate the infection in Han Han’s head, after which we did a skin graft and inserted a shunt to help remove the fluid inside." Doctors elected to perform a life-saving surgery never before done, translated from Chinese as "whole brain shrinking plastic surgery", which involved the removal of Han Han’s entire scalp. A full 3D reconstruction and printing of Han Han’s skull was then done in the form of three titanium mesh skull implants, which together replaced the entire top portion of her head after doctors repositioned her brain and removed all excess cerebrospinal fluid in the surgery that lasted some 17 hours. Doctors said that they expect Han Han to make a full recovery, and that over the course of the next months and years, Han Han’s normal bone growth will build up and cover the titanium implants to create an entirely new – and smaller – top portion of her skull. (ends)

The surgeons used 3D printing technology to create a titanium alloy skull and successfully set it into Han Han’s head. During the operation, the kid’s scalp and skull were removed. Her brain was then repositioned and the huge volume of excess fluid drained away. As she continues to grow, the titanium implants will become surrounded by her own bone, strengthening the top of her skull.  
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