SINGAPORE: 73-year-old Mr Lian who had part of his nose amputated as part of the treatment for skin cancer two years ago, resorted to wearing face masks in public and had resigned himself to having a hole in his face where a large portion of his nose used to be.
While other patients in similar situations can opt for tissue reconstruction from other body parts, Mr Lian’s doctors were concerned about the potential recurrence of skin cancer in the region. Another option would have been to wear a plastic prosthesis, but Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) in Singapore had a novel solution.
In November last year, TTSH’s Medical 3D Printing Centre designed and 3D-printed a custom prosthetic nose for Mr Lian, based on scans of his face. This is believed to be the first 3D-printed nose made in Singapore.
TTSH is the first hospital in Singapore to offer in-house 3D printing services. Although it has been in operation since 2020, the centre was officially opened last November 2022 and uses 3D printing for various purposes, including creating models of patients’ organs from medical scans to aid in explaining their condition and treatment plan to doctors and patients, printing custom tools for surgeries, and practising complex procedures.
The TTSH teamed up with lecturers at the cosmetology department at ITE College East to hand-paint the prosthetic to match Mr Lian’s face. After nearly four months of fittings and redesigns, the elderly cancer survivor walked out of the hospital on 7 March wearing his new prosthetic nose.
Revealing that the prosthetic, which is attached to his face with transparent tape, is so light that he plans to wear it even while sleeping, he told Channel 8:
“After operation, your life have to change but I’m quite happy with the nose fixture because the nose they made is very light. I feel not much pressure, it’s so light (that it’s) like I’m not wearing anything.”
Patients who had to have their fingers amputated due to accidents can also soon benefit from TTSH’s 3D printing centre’s work as it is working on producing finger prostheses for these patients, enabling them to live and work as per normal.
The centre is also planning to print protective skull covers for stroke patients who had to have part of their skulls removed. Each piece will be tailor-made to the dimensions of each different patient’s scalp.
While prostheses made with this technology typically cost several hundred dollars, TTSH aims to ensure that the fees remain affordable for patients. Internal cost discussions are ongoing.