How One Company is Defeating Obesity with 3D Printing-Based Bariatric Procedures.

BioSculpture Technology, a company led by New York Downtown Hospitals and the Presbyterian New York affiliated plastic surgeon Robert Cucin, recently revealed that the 3D printing technology has allowed the firm to develop an innovative line of surgical instruments for obesity treatment. Liposuction, a surgical procedure that involves the removal of excess fat deposits in various body parts, is currently the most widely utilized method for patients suffering from obesity. In fact, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) estimates that the number of liposuction procedures has increased by over 16%, recording an all time high at 396,048 procedures performed in 2015. ASAPS president Dr. Jack Fisher stated that the increase in liposuction procedures is directly attributable to the emergence of innovative technologies such as 3D printing that have successfully reduced the invasiveness of liposuction. BioSculpture Technology is one of the several companies that is currently experimenting with technologies like 3D printing to allow patients to undergo safer and optimal bariatric procedures.For most surgical procedures, the duration, process and overall efficiency are heavily dependent on the build quality and capacity of surgical instruments. If surgeons are provided with medical equipment that is custom-built and designed for certain procedures, it significantly decreases the duration of the operation and poses less risk to the patient. According to Dr. Cucin, most manufacturers and surgical equipment developers disregard the importance of creating exact replicas of human organ structures. Without the formation of accurate and precise models of body parts that are affected during a liposuction procedure, it is extremely difficult to design equipment for certain phases of the operations.continue