Israeli surgeons implant 3D-printed chest cage in rare cancer case
On Tuesday, surgeons at Clalit-Beilinson Hospital in Israel successfully removed a patient's sternum and portions of her ribs before reconstructing her chest with a custom 3D-printed implant, according to The Jerusalem Post. The procedure marked the first time an entire 3D-printed chest cage had been implanted to reconstruct the chest wall in Israel.
The patient, a woman in her twenties identified as Hadas, underwent surgery after doctors discovered a tumor eroding her sternum. Further testing revealed it to be an exceptionally rare BRAF-altered mesenchymal sarcoma reported in roughly 20 cases worldwide, according to medical literature cited in the report. Head of Thoracic Surgery Dr. Yury Peysakhovich described the sternum as "essentially the anchor of the entire chest," noting that imprecise reconstruction could compromise respiratory mechanics and protection of the heart and lungs.
Surgical team selects PEKK over conventional materials
The team rejected traditional reconstruction materials such as synthetic mesh, titanium plates, and bone cement in favor of a fully customized 3D-printed chest implant made of PEKK (polyether ketone ketone), a carbon fiber-reinforced polymer chosen for combining strength with flexibility in a way that resembles natural bone, according to Dr. Israel Weiss, Head of Orthopedic Oncology. The roughly two-hour surgery used a discreet incision beneath the breasts to minimize visible scarring. "Rare cases require creative solutions. The combination of advanced 3D-printing technology and close collaboration between multiple surgical specialties allowed us to offer this patient a solution that simply wasn't available only a few years ago," Peysakhovich said.
Gefertec launches Arctitan titanium additive manufacturing system
Germany-based Gefertec has launched Arctitan, a new system for additive manufacturing of titanium components, according to industry trade publication Wedoany. The system combines a fully sealed protective gas atmosphere with a plasma-based wire-arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) process and maintains oxygen levels within the build space at 10–15 ppm throughout the manufacturing cycle. Gefertec states the equipment achieves a deposition rate of up to three kilograms per hour.
The standard Arctitan machine offers a build space of 2,000 × 700 × 1,000 mm, with customized dimensions and configurations available on customer request. The company says the sealed chamber and plasma process enable repeatability of process conditions throughout each build, addressing titanium's sensitivity to impurities. Gefertec identifies aerospace, the energy sector, and other industrial applications where titanium's strength-to-weight ratio, corrosion resistance, and performance under extreme conditions are valued as target markets.
Two very different scales of additive manufacturing
The two reports illustrate how 3D printing is being deployed across distinct scales of complexity. The Israeli procedure required a patient-specific PEKK implant shaped to a single anatomy and produced for a roughly two-hour reconstructive surgery, while Arctitan is a generalized industrial platform engineered for repeatable production of larger titanium parts across multiple sectors. The shared engineering concern is precision control over material and process conditions: the medical team rejected conventional reconstruction materials to achieve anatomical conformity, and Gefertec engineered its chamber around oxygen exclusion to stabilize titanium deposition.
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