A novel process developed at Indiana University uses 3D modeling and printing to produce remarkably lifelike facial prosthetics faster than traditional methods. The showcase patient for the process is Shirley Anderson, who was first diagnosed with cancer on his tongue in 1998.
Radiation treatments destroyed Anderson’s Adam’s apple and jaw, and multiple attempts at reconstructive surgery failed. For years, Anderson wore a surgical mask in public to conceal his badly scarred face.
In 2012, Anderson began working with Dr. Travis Bellicchi, a maxillofacial prosthodontics resident at the IU school of dentistry. Anderson’s prosthesis would be the largest ever produced at the school, and Bellichi quickly found that conventional methods produced a prosthetic that was too heavy and uncomfortable.
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