Man’s deadly chest ‘time bomb’ removed using 3D-printed aorta model

Surgeons at Brisbane’s Prince Charles Hospital successfully performed a rare and complex operation to replace nearly the entire aorta of a man in his late 50s, whose vessel had ballooned to about four times its normal size, posing an imminent risk of fatal rupture. The life-threatening condition, described as a “ticking time bomb,” was discovered during routine monitoring. To prepare for the intricate nine-hour surgery, the team collaborated with the Herston Biofabrication Institute to create a life-sized, multi-material 3D-printed model of the patient’s distorted aorta. This tactile model, produced from detailed CT scans, allowed surgeons to rehearse the procedure more effectively than traditional two-dimensional imaging. During surgery, the patient’s body was cooled and circulation temporarily stopped to enable safe removal of the diseased aortic arch, which had expanded to about eight centimeters—far beyond the normal two to three centimeters. The damaged section was replaced with a synthetic graft resembling “flexible, waterproof jackets.”