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The Application of a Three-Dimensional Printed Product to Fill the Space After Organ Removal
Jui-Yu Weng1, Che-Chuna Wang2, Pei-Jar Chen1
1Department of Electrical Engineering, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Tainan, Taiwan.
Background:
Maintaining body integrity, especially in Asian societies, is an independent predictor of organ donation.
Case Description:
Herein, we report the case of an 18-year-old man who suffered a traumatic brain injury with ensuing brain death caused by a car accident. According to the family's wishes, we used a 3-dimensional printer to create simulated heart, kidneys, and liver to fill the spaces after the patient's organs were removed. This is the first case report to introduce this new clinical application of 3-dimensional printed products during transplantation surgery.
Conclusions:
This new clinical application may have supportive psychological effects on the family and caregivers; however, given the varied responses to our procedure, this ethical issue is worth discussing.
