Case Study: SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital achieves confident surgical planning and successful infant heart repair with Stratasys 3D printing

3D Printed Heart Model Helps Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital Plan Complex Surgeries

SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital faced a high-risk case: a newborn with a rare form of transposition of the great arteries, a large ventricular septal defect and severe subaortic stenosis with tissue dangerously close to the mitral valve. The complexity made it impossible to determine from imaging alone whether resection would damage the mitral valve, creating uncertainty about the optimal surgical approach. The hospital used Stratasys 3D printing technology, specifically the Stratasys J750, for pre-surgical planning.

Using an MRI dataset, the team printed a patient-specific heart model on the Stratasys J750 that clarified spatial anatomy and guided the decision to perform a neonatal atrial switch, VSD closure, and targeted resection. With the Stratasys model, surgeons proceeded confidently, preserved mitral valve function, and successfully treated the 20-day-old infant; cardiac function improved, heart rate normalized, and the patient is expected to have an excellent long-term prognosis.

SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital

Charles Huddleston

Cardiothoracic Surgeon, Pediatrics