For the first time, doctor's saved a baby boy from Ohio using a 3-D laser printer to create an airway splint, the Associated Press reported.
Kaiba Gionfriddo used to stop breathing nearly every day and his heart would even stop beating sometimes. The baby had a birth defect that caused his airway to collapse.
Michigan doctor's had been researching artificial airway splints, but had not yet implanted one into a patient.
The doctor's got special permission from the Food and Drug Administration to implant one of these splints into baby Kaiba due to the severity of the situation.
The day before the implant a 3-D printer was used to print out 100 tiny tubes with guided lasers that formed different shapes and sizes.
The tube will grow with Kaiba, the splint is made from material similar to dissolvable stitches and will eventually be absorbed into the baby's tissue. Doctor's hope that by the time the material is absorbed Kaiba's own tissue will be strong enough to keep his airway open, according to USA Today.
Now, a year after the surgery, Kaiba will soon have his tracheotomy tube removed, and has not had a breathing crisis since the initial operation.
About one in 2,200 babies are born with tracheobronchomalaci, the condition that Kaiba was diagnosed with. Kaiba has a bronchus that was not fully formed, the bronchus is one of the airways that branch off of the windpipe.
As a newborn, Kaiba had a very narrow bronchus and even the slightest collapse could be fatal, doctors believe that when he is older and his splint has been absorbed, the bronchus will be able to withstand some slight narrowing.
"We're really relieved and happy that he's not turning blue anymore," said April Gionfriddo, the boy's mother.
There will be a clinical trial that will allow doctor's to create splints for children who's lives are in immediate danger.
The 3-D printing technology could be used to build facial bones, ears and noses have already been built through this technology but are yet to be transplanted.
Researchers are also working on technology to build scaffolds for tissue engineering with the technology, which may allow them to create artificial blood vessels.
The 3-D technology will allow doctor's to lay down cell-filled gel in layers. The gel will protect the cells and provide them with food to grow.
These artificial blood vessels have only been tested on animals so far, but doctor's hope to use them to aid in bypass surgery or replace blocked vessels in the legs.
