Vinmec Healthcare System, Vietnam’s main personal healthcare system, has carried out a Whole Femoral Alternative (TFR) utilizing customized 3D printed steel for the youngest recognized affected person identified with osteosarcoma. This not solely saved the kid’s leg—however marked a turning level for Vietnam’s function in high-tech, precision drugs.
In 2022, after what appeared like a minor damage, a younger boy named Tran Minh Duc was identified with aggressive bone most cancers that had invaded his total femur. The usual suggestions—amputation or bone grafting—posed extreme dangers, particularly for a rising baby.
As a substitute, Vinmec medical doctors proposed an unprecedented answer for the historically accepted method within the nation: to design and manufacture a customized femur utilizing 3D printing expertise, tailor-made exactly to Duc’s anatomy. The implant was developed regionally by way of collaboration between Vinmec surgeons and engineers from VinUni, utilizing CT and MRI scans to mannequin and produce the modular implant fully in Vietnam.
This two-phase surgical procedure included tumor removing and a momentary cement bone graft in early 2024, adopted by full alternative with a 3D printed steel femur in Might 2025. “We contacted international producers, however there was no appropriate design,” mentioned Dr. Tran Duc Thanh. “Self-manufacturing the gear permits us to be proactive in remedy.”
The implant’s modular design allows future changes as Duc grows, embodying the rules of customized and adaptable drugs. “The 4-hour surgical procedure was successful,” mentioned Prof. Dr. Tran Trung Dung. “Duc recovered shortly, and he’s now strolling with help.”
This case marks the primary time 3D printing has been used for TFR in such a younger affected person, and it was executed utilizing fully Vietnamese assets. Past the surgical success, it units a brand new normal for the way superior manufacturing can remodel medical care in growing nations.
Vinmec continues to push boundaries with 3D printing, having beforehand achieved milestones resembling making a titanium 3D printed chest wall and performing a simultaneous pelvis and femur alternative.
