Baby Kaiba Gionfriddo from Youngstown, Ohio Saved by 3D Printer
Baby Kaiba Gionfriddo from Youngstown, Ohio has been in a constant struggle to live just weeks after birth. When Kaiba was 6 weeks old, he stopped breathing. The baby's father, Bryan, rushed to pump his chest to get air back into the tiny baby's lungs.
Bryan brought his son to local hospital within 30 minutes as doctors scrambled to save the baby's life. According to their diagnosis, the baby must have inhaled liquid or food into his lungs that explains the air block. The hospital finally declared it was safe for the baby to go home.
After two days, Baby Kaiba stopped breathing again. The family realized that it was only the beginning of a constant struggle to save the baby's life. Kaiba's mother, April Gionfriddo said that Kaiba would need daily CPR. The family would soon discover Kaiba had a bronchial malacia which is a rare lung condition.
According to medical research, about 1 out of 2,000 infants are born with bronchial malacia but only about 10% share the same severe case as Kaiba. At 2 months old, the baby had to be intubated to breathe. Despite having a ventilator and tube, Kaiba had to be revived every day. April had little hope that her son would ever go home from the hospital.
Kaiba's chances of survival were slim. Turning on desperation, doctors were willing to try an experimental technique that involved making a splint made of biological material. The technique was not tested on a human before but if successful, the splint will be able to clear the path to unblock Kaiba's airways. To the relief of the family and everyone in the hospital, Kaiba can breathe normally again.
The splint was created by a 3D printer. Dr. Glenn Green, the surgeon who performed the experimental technique was amazed. He said it's quite magical to have something made out of dust and become a part of the human body.
Kaiba's unique procedure appears in the new issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Science and technology continues to work wonders.