Dave Richards, 75, was hit by a drunk driver in July 2021 when he was cycling. The serious accident cost him half of his face due to third-degree burns. Now he has become a pioneer in facial reconstruction guaranteed by 3D technology.
A 75-year-old man became the first to receive a 3D printed face through the British National Health Service. Dave Richards He suffered serious third-degree burns after being run over by a drunk driver in July 2021, while riding a bicycle, and as a result, half of his face was disfigured.
The mimetic prosthesis of the new 3D medical center, from the British NHS (NHS), It adjusts to the space on your face that has become ’empty’ and imitates the color of your hair, eyes and skin.
Richards, from Devon, said surgeons tried to save his eye but “were concerned that any infection could spread” from the eye to the optic nerve and then to the brain. For this reason, the eye was removed. The British admitted he was “lucky to survive” to the accident, but I wanted to get my face back.
During the recovery process, it was referenced for reconstructive prostheticswhich were available on new Bristol 3D medical centero first of its kind in the UK to have scanning, design and 3D printing in a single location within the British health service.
“When 3D capability came along, a huge range of possibilities opened up”he explained to the Daily Mail newspaper. The Brit said that creating the prosthesis was a “surreal” experience, but one that helped him gain trust.
Richards continues to recover from the accident, But the innovative help of treatments using 3D technology has been a pleasant surprise since I assumed I was initially skeptical.
The centre, based in Frenchay, Bristol, provides scientific and technical support to trauma patients through state-of-the-art digital technology and specialist reconstruction expertise.
