Veterinary 3D titanium skull plate for dog with cancer

The 3D veterinarians printed a new titanium skull plate for a dog with a big tumor coming out of his skull.

The dog, named Patches, received the new treatment through the procedure proposed by Dr. Michelle Oblak of the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. Oblak was also the surgeon who performed the procedure with the help of his colleague Dr. Galina Hayes, a small animal surgeon at the College of Veterinary Medicine in Cornell, according to a statement.

Oblak's study focused on examining dogs as a model of cancer in humans. She thought that animal patients could speed up the process of developing innovative reconstruction procedures for humans. With regard to the patches, the large tumor of the dog's head on his head could spread into his cerebral orbit, which warranted immediate attention.

According to the traditional procedure, surgeons would remove the tumor first and then evaluate the degree of damage to be able to place the titanium mesh on the affected area. In this case, more than 70% of the top skull of the patches had to be removed. Removing the tumor and covering the skull will take time, thus increasing the danger for the patient.

Oblak's new procedure was first to scan the dog's head to create a 3D model. The model was then printed in 3D with the help of Sheridan College's Center for Advanced Manufacturing Design and Technology. The 3D printed model became a model that Oblak could study from all angles before even putting Patches under the knife.

"I could really understand before I got into surgery what the defect was going to look like," Oblak said.

The patches were anesthetized for about five hours, during which Oblak removed the tumor and placed the ready-to-use cranial plate to cover the dog's exposed brain tissue. Less than 30 minutes after surgery, Patches was already "alert and looking around."

Oblak and his team made the procedure available through a veterinarian at the Health Sciences Center of the Ontario Veterinary College. Animals in which a skull tumor is diagnosed will first need to be examined by a veterinarian and then scanned to determine if they are eligible. / ra

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