Alain Carballeyra (left), director of the 59th Medical Wing stereolithography lab at Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, uses state-of-the-art graphic programs to make changes on a computer model to help Lt. Col. (Dr.) Steve Maller (center), director of resident education and training, and periodontic resident Capt. (Dr.) Josh Hethcox plan precise placement of implants for a patient. Dental and oral surgeons from Wilford Hall and nearby Brooke Army Medical Center frequently enlist the aid of the stereolithography lab to develop treatment plans to minimize surgery and patient recovery time. Colonel Maller and Captain Hethcox are with the 59th Dental Training Squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Kimberly A. Yearyean-Siers)
Maj. (Dr.) Cecelia Schalbach, chief of head and neck microvascular surgery at Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, examines the progress of Army Staff Sgt. Terry Saffron's jaw rebuild. His jaw was injured by shrapnel from an improvised explosive device in May 2004 in Iraq. Sergeant Saffron was referred to Wilford Hall for additional surgeries to treat his war wounds. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Kimberly A. Yearyean-Siers)
by Master Sgt. Kimberly A. Yearyean-Siers
59th Medical Wing Public Affairs
5/28/2008 - LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) -- While towing a disabled vehicle through the streets of Bagdad in 2004, Army Staff Sgt. Terry Saffron's HUMVEE was struck by an improvised explosive device. When he came to, he had an injured arm and a shattered jaw.
For years he suffered debilitating jaw pain and was unable to chew. Army doctors worked to repair it but they were unable to get blood flow to the jaw to keep the bone alive.
Sergeant Saffron was referred to Wilford Hall Medical Center here and Maj. (Dr.) Cecelia Schmalbach, chief of head and neck microvascular surgery, for the next steps in his rehabilitation.
One of Dr. Schmalbach's first steps in repairing Sergeant Saffron's jaw was to have a model created of how his jaw should look. She turned to Wilford Hall's stereolithography lab for this.
The lab staff has helped doctors care for patients who have been disfigured by trauma, cancer and congenital anomalies since 1996.
The lab's technicians first used images from CT scans to create a 3-D graphic. They then used 3-D sculpting tools and advanced modeling techniques to produce a mirror image the patient's mandible and created a corrected anatomical jaw. A computer-guided laser used the graphic to create an epoxy photopolymer resin model of how his jaw should look.
"I was able to bend a titanium plate that matched exactly where his old bone was," Dr. Schmalbach said. "I was able to hold a model and look at a film, then look at Sergeant Saffron and try to piece together what was missing, to better anticipate what I would need for his surgery."
With the help of the model created by the stereolithography lab technicians, Dr. Schmalbach was able to successfully use a bone, artery and vein from Sergeant Saffron's leg to repair his jaw. He still has a way to go on his road to recovery but he is able to eat, swallow and talk again.
"There is no question in my mind that I could not have achieved the quality of reconstruction and returning this patient to normal occlusion without the aid of the stereolithography models," said Dr. Schmalbach.
