Ontario researchers use 3D-printing tech to replace part of dog’s skull
Researchers at an Ontario university have used 3D-printing technology to replace the majority of a dog’s cancer-ridden skull, a novel procedure they say marks a major advancement in veterinary medicine. Michelle Oblak, a veterinary surgical oncologist with the University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College, said she believes the procedure is the first of its kind in North America and a substantive leap from one other known case. “Our hope is this is something that could be more widely available on a broad scale,” Oblak said. “It went very well.” Patches, the nine-year-old dachshund at the centre of the procedure, had a brain tumour the size of an orange that grew through her skull and would have been fatal if not treated, her owner said. “We called her our little unicorn because she had this bump on her head, but it would have killed her,” said Danielle Dymeck, who is from Willamsport, Pa. “It’s pretty amazing what they did for my girl.” Dymeck said a small bump that Patches had on her head for years began growing aggressively some months ago. Her vet pointed her to Cornell University, famed for its veterinary program, and a vet there reached out to Oblak. The Guelph researcher has been studying using 3D-printing technology - also known as rapid prototyping technology - for dogs. Previously, Oblak said, for a dog like Patches, a tumour and part of the skull would be removed in surgery and then, while the animal was still under, a surgeon would fit a titanium mesh in place. It was an imprecise, costly and lengthy procedure, she said. A new kind of procedure, in which a 3D printer creates a custom-made titanium skull cap for a dog, is much better, Oblak said. Patches was the perfect candidate, the researcher said. The dog needed about 70 per cent of her skull removed and replaced. Veterinarians in the U.K. have performed a similar surgery, but it was on a significantly smaller scale, Oblak said. Patches’ owner said she had a tough time deciding whether to have her pet be at the centre of the research endeavour, but eventually went ahead. “They felt she could recover from this,” Dymeck said. “And to be part of cancer research was a big thing for me - if they can learn something from animals to help humans, that’s pretty important.”