Malaga Regional Hospital reconstructs a patient's heart in 3D

The three-dimensional model has made it possible to perform cardiac surgery to correct a congenital malformation that had affected the patient since birth

SUR

Tuesday, 6 August 2024, 11:24

The cardiology department of the Regional Hospital Malaga has managed to reconstruct the heart of a 36-year-old patient with a complex congenital heart disease using 3D printing, obtaining a three-dimensional model that has allowed heart surgery to correct a congenital malformation that had affected him since birth.

The team of specialists involved, cardiologists and cardiac surgeons, have managed to reproduce the organ exactly from the tests carried out - ultrasound and CT scans - using advanced three-dimensional printing techniques.

The aim is to allow the surgeon a "complete and personalised knowledge of the anatomy prior to surgery, allowing more accurate planning of the technique to be used, as well as reducing complications and improving the surgical outcome," said Enrique Ruiz, head of the cardiac surgery department.

After the postoperative recovery period and the relevant follow-up time to assess the patient's progress, the adult congenital heart disease unit of the Regional University Hospital Malaga has been able to discharge the patient, determining that he is "completely recovered with no cardiac pathology."

The cardiologist in charge of the unit, Joaquín Cano, explained that "thanks to this technology, it has been possible to physically visualise a replica of the heart outside the patient's chest cavity, allowing the medical team to understand the complexity of the pathology in order to proceed with the surgical approach specifically adjusted to the patient's anatomy."

For his part, the head of the cardiology department and director of the heart unit, Cristóbal Urbano, stressed that "the advance of this technology opens up a wide range of possibilities for treating cardiac conditions and pathologies in a personalised and effective way through surgical or percutaneous procedures, both in planning, as has been demonstrated with this patient, and with the future possibility of printing personalised valve prostheses."

The adult congenital heart disease unit of the Regional University Hospital Malaga is a key facility for the province of Malaga, Campo de Gibraltar, Almeria and Melilla, and attends approximately 1,000 patients a year. It includes a specialised transition consultation unit to co-ordinate care with the paediatric cardiology unit of the Materno Infantil Hospital, a leading centre at regional and national level.

The aim is to guarantee continuity of care for patients with congenital heart disease through the transition from paediatric to adulthood. Both units are integrated into the heart clinical management unit, which comprehensively deals with cardiovascular pathology, including the cardiology service and the cardiovascular surgery service.

The cardiovascular surgery service of the Regional University Hospital Malaga attends around 40,000 consultations a year, performs around 4,000 catheterisations and 1,300 coronary angioplasties, as well as carrying out around 300 valvular and structural intervention procedures, 400 arrhythmic substrate ablations and at least 1,200 surgical procedures including vascular and cardiac pathology.

The cardiology unit has, in addition to the hospitalisation and consultation floors for adults and children, three adult haemodynamics rooms, two operating theatres for cardiovascular surgery in the Regional Hospital and an electrophysiology room for adults and children and paediatric haemodynamics, and another operating theatre for paediatric cardiac surgery in the Hospital Materno Infantil.

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