A New Face for Somali Woman Shot 25 Years Ago, Thanks to 3D Printing

Ayaan Oma Muhumed, now 27 years old, had been living with literally a hole in her face for the last 25 years. In 1991, the region she was living in, called Somaliland, declared itself independent from Somalia. Also on that same day, her life was shattered, as a bullet tore into the then, two year old’s face. For the last quarter of a century this young girl has been hiding away from the world, afraid to go out in public, afraid to to the things that every girl her age take for granted. This all changed though thanks to the Foundation for Orthopedic Reconstruction (FOR).

Surgeons Dr. John Arvier and Dr. David Chin, worked tirelessly with a team of 20 volunteers, performing an 11 hour surgery to fix the hole in Ayaan’s face. The team had to insert a medical implant to fill in the area of bone which the bullet had torn away from Ayaan’s skull 25 years ago. To do this they used a customized implant, built by Oxford Performance Materials. The implant was built using a patented Osteofab technology, which incorporates the 3D printing of an advanced PEKK polymer.

After 11 hours in the operating room, the team emerged, reporting that the surgery had been an overwhelming success. FOR donated the time and materials for this operation, which has turned this young, shy girl, afraid to emerge from her home, into a young vibrant woman, ready to conquer the world. She now walks with confidence, and will look strangers directly in the eye. The transformation both inside and out have been amazing.

“FOR is committed to helping those around the globe in need of a medical implant,” said Pat DeFelice, executive director of FOR. “It is a difficult undertaking to reach out to all surgeons and organizations dedicated to not only medically helping victims, whether violence, illness or trauma but to also improve the quality of life for each and every affected human. It is our hope that the smile on Ayan’s face will encourage more to come forward.”

This is just one of the  many medical miracles that the 3D printing industry has helped bring about. For Ayaan, there is still some healing that needs to take place, but her progress has been remarkable.  Discuss Ayaan’s facial surgery  at 3DPrintBoard.