IN what is believed to be the first transplant of its kind, a North-East surgeon used an advanced 3D printer to make half a new pelvis for a cancer patient.

Orthopaedic surgeon, Craig Gerrand, from the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, used the pioneering new technique three years ago to help a male patient in his 60s who had half his pelvis removed by surgeons in order to stop bone cancer spreading.

Because so much bone had been removed from his pelvis it would have been impossible to fit a standard hip replacement.

Using sophisticated scans to calculate exactly how much bone would be removed Mr Gerrand used a new 3D printer to create an exact match.

The printer laid down successive layers of titanium powder fused by laser to build up a replacement half-pelvis.

Mr Gerrand then coated the titanium half-pelvis with a mineral which encourages bone growth.

The operation to remove the half-pelvis was undertaken with the assistance of sophisticated surgical navigation technology, which creates a 3D screen image to guide the surgeon.

The next step was to fit a normal artificial hip replacement into the new socket.

Three years after the operation the patient, a retired professional man, is able to get around under his own steam, albeit with a walking stick.

Mr Gerrand said: “It’s fantastic that you can do cool surgery but the real innovation will be when we don’t have to do this at all, because we have developed new treatments that can stop the cancer in its track.”