Danish man receives Denmark's first 3D-printed skull implant after accident

Mads Blume, a 56-year-old former glassblower, has become the first person in Denmark to receive a 3D-printed skull implant. The groundbreaking procedure followed a severe cycling accident 14 years ago that left him with half of his skull crushed, forcing him to stop working.

The development of the custom implant required close collaboration between various medical specialists and hospital engineers. "This is one of the more groundbreaking aspects of this, that they have been involved in designing the implant that we have inserted into Mads," explained Baskaran Ketharanathan, a neurosurgeon at Aarhus University Hospital, to TV Midtvest.

To create the new skull, doctors used skin from Blume's left buttock, a choice he attributes to his extensive tattoos covering most of his body. The complex surgery, performed at Aarhus University Hospital in Skejby, took six hours and involved a team of four doctors and four nurses.

Blume is reportedly pleased with the outcome, noting that sensation in his head is gradually returning. While he has not yet returned to the workforce, he is dedicating his time to painting, photography, and working with ceramics and glass art.

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Vi har haft vores ingeniør her fra sygehuset involveret. Det er noget af det mere banebrydende i det her, at de har været med til at designe det implantat, som vi har sat ind hos Mads.