3-D Printing Helps Man Get Back His Face Broken in Fall

A 3-D printing helped this man from England get back his face after every bone in his face was broken following a fall from a fourth floor balcony. Jon Fenton, 27, had gone on a holiday to Barcelona with fiancée Rachel West when he fell off the 35-foot hotel balcony. He fell on a concrete which shattered his face and skull, broke all four limbs but the brain was saved.

After he returned from Barcelona, he was admitted to Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham where specialists used a 3-D print of his damaged skull and old pictures to understand how to re-break his bones and rebuild his face. The reconstructive surgery where almost every bone in his face was re-set lasted for 14 hours.

Dr Dilip Srinivasan, who oversaw the process, said, “It’s a big undertaking. We had to break nearly all the bones in his face, like a jigsaw.”

Fenton was trying to balance on a chair to get a better view of Barcelona. He said, “I don't remember the fall, but I fell over a chair. I was trying to get a good view of the city and must have tripped over it and went over the balcony.” He stayed in a Barcelona hospital for six weeks.

According to doctors, Fenton’s face acted as a crumple zone which protected his head and chest from serious injuries.

Fenton is now back at his home and is planning to marry Rachel later this year.

Source-Medindia