3D printouts used to rebuild bike crash victim's face Published duration 7 January 2017

media caption George Boden has had his jaw rebuilt thanks to a 3D printer after a horrific bike accident

A man who lost part of his face in a cycling accident has had his jaw rebuilt with the help of a 3D printer.

George Boden, from High Easter, near Chelmsford, Essex, was riding his bike in 2011 when he crashed face-first.

Surgeons took bone from his shoulder and a titanium plate to make a new jaw, but he was left with no bottom teeth and a mouth the size of a walnut.

But 3D printed models were used to plan more surgery to refine his jaw and create new teeth.

Mr Boden said: "I was out for a training spin, looked at my watch and the next minute I'd slammed into a piece of machinery around the corner.

"It's not a good idea to hit something with your chin at 30mph [48kmph], which is exactly what I did. It ripped the whole of my jaw off."

image caption Maxillofacial surgeon Iain Hutchison rebuilt Mr Boden's face with the help of the 3D printout

Doctors covered his rebuilt jaw with a skin flap, but then decided to input his CT scan into a 3D printer to produce a more finely detailed model of his jaw.

His surgeon Iain Hutchison said: "We use it to plan the operation. We use it to design exactly what we are going to take."

The model was also used to make bespoke teeth implants to perfectly fit his new jaw, while another device was also printed to stretch his mouth.

Mr Boden said the technology gave him hope when he most needed it.

"I've found two things," he said. "First of all if you know you are going to get a solution you can keep going and secondly, red wine helps enormously."

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