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Cardiologists repair toddler's pulmonary arteries with help from 3-D printed heart model

by Lauren Dubinsky, Senior Reporter | February 10, 2017
Cardiology Pediatrics
Dr. Frank Ing with the
3-D printed heart model
Cardiologists at Children's Hospital Los Angeles used CT scans to create a 3-D printed model of a toddler's heart, to help modify a stent to repair his pulmonary arteries.

Eighteen-month-old Nate Yamane was born with a condition called tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia. That resulted in heart defects that obstructed his pulmonary artery and prevented blood in the heart from flowing to the lungs.

“Imagine blood flowing in the artery like cars on the freeway, and it’s blocked. Cars exit and find an alternate route to their destinations; blood does the same, and in this case finds its way through collateral vessels to the lungs,” Dr. Frank Ing, chief of the division of cardiology and co-director of the Heart Institute at the hospital, said in a statement.

To treat the condition, the vessels need to be rebuilt quickly or the heart will fail. Surgeons perform a surgical technique called unifocalization to sew the vessels together.

Nate underwent two open heart surgeries and a catheterization procedure to treat the condition, but in December, 2015, his pulmonary arteries were found to be narrowed in the right and left branch.

A surgical team led by Ing inserted a balloon to open the right side and a stent was needed to keep the left section open. Since stents aren't typically that small, the surgeons had to cut their smallest stent and fold it back upon itself.

Nate immediately had an improvement in blood flow and his blood pressure lowered. In the next few months he gained some weight and underwent physical therapy to get stronger for his next procedure.

Modified stent fit into Nate's 9-millimeter
narrowing using this 3-D printed model
On January 19, 2017, Ing inserted an even smaller stent into Nate's right pulmonary artery. Prior to that, the stent was modified using the 3-D printed model of Nate's heart as a guide.

The team was able to successfully open the right pulmonary artery and Nate's oxygen levels improved overnight.

He will need additional surgeries in the future, but he now weighs 21.5 pounds and he's eating more and getting stronger. His mother, Courtney, said in a statement that he's rolling around with energy and took his first baby steps.

“There’s a big difference and a lot of improvement," she added. "We’re going in the right direction.”

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