Case Study: Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust achieves life-saving paediatric kidney transplant with Stratasys multi-material 3D printing

3D printing Enables a Child’s Life-Saving Kidney Transplant

Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, one of the largest NHS trusts in the UK treating over 2.4 million patients a year, faced a high‑risk pediatric transplant: two‑year‑old Dexter required an adult kidney from his father, but his severe underweight status (under 10 kg) and the donor kidney’s large size created uncertainty about whether the organ would safely fit and how to minimise operative risk. To address these anatomical and feasibility challenges the team used in‑house multi‑material 3D printing from Stratasys (PolyJet technology).

Using a Stratasys 3D Printer, clinicians converted CT scans into sterilizable, patient‑specific multi‑material models to visualise depth, vessel anatomy and organ flexibility, rehearse the procedure, and plan the surgical approach. The Stratasys models enabled the team to decide to proceed without putting Dexter on dialysis, reduced the need for invasive exploratory surgery, saved operating room time, improved training and family counselling, and contributed directly to a successful transplant.

Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust

Pankaj Chandak

Transplant Registrar