![\"Portrait](\"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Munier-Nazzal-05292025-7615a.jpg\")
Dr. Munier Nazzal, a UToledo Health vascular surgeon, poses with a 3D graft printer. UToledo Health is one of the first healthcare systems in the country to treat chronic wounds using 3D printed grafts derived from a patient\u2019s own fat cells.<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cMost wounds heal on their own. It may take some time or require minor surgery, but most cuts and abrasions are eventually going to heal,\u201d said Nazzal, who is chief of the Division of Vascular, Endovascular Surgery and Wound Care at UTMC. \u201cHowever, some wounds, particularly in patients with underlying medical conditions, fail to heal for months or even years. This technology is going to make a huge difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
The new procedure combines the latest bioprinting technology with the unique ability of a certain type of cells found in body fat to stimulate healing. The precision-medicine approach uses a graft made of a patient\u2019s own cells to promote faster healing of chronic wounds.<\/p>\n
Physicians start by using detailed photos and artificial intelligence to create a 3D model of the patient\u2019s wound. A small amount of fat is then collected from the patient \u2014 usually from the abdomen \u2014 and processed into a bioink. That bioink is then loaded into a specialized printer that makes a personalized graft to fit the size and depth of the wound.<\/p>\n
Unlike a skin graft, where healthy skin is transplanted to replace missing or damaged skin, the 3D printed graft is not itself skin. Instead, it covers and protects the wound while promoting the body\u2019s own natural healing process.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s almost like printing a puzzle piece,\u201d Nazzal said. \u201cWe\u2019re able to make a graft that is an exact fit for the wound, and that graft is going to promote healing. It\u2019s not magic \u2014 it\u2019s not healing tomorrow, but it\u2019s healing faster than we see from our traditional methods of treatment. We\u2019re very early on in this, but it has shown good results.\u201d<\/p>\n
As America\u2019s population ages, chronic wounds are a growing clinical concern.<\/p>\n
Frequently related to issues stemming from diabetes, vascular diseases or limited mobility, non-healing wounds can markedly impact an individual\u2019s quality of life, lead to amputations and significantly increase the risk of serious and even life-threatening infections.<\/p>\n
Estimates about the prevelance of chronic wounds vary, but some sources place the number of Americans affected at close to 10 million.<\/p>\n
Treatment frequently includes cleaning the wound and removing dead or infected tissue, increasing blood flow to the area, specialized dressings or hyperbaric oxygen therapy.<\/p>\n
The new 3D graft procedure doesn\u2019t replace those traditional methods, but it can make them more effective, Nazzal said.<\/p>\n
One of the first patients treated with the new procedure at UToledo Health was Jeffrey Paul.<\/p>\n
Paul, who suffers from an autoimmune blistering disorder and has a history of chronic wounds, had been dealing with a lesion on his right ankle for months. Despite expert care, it wasn\u2019t healing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got to the point where it was just come in, change the bandage, come in, change the bandage. Nothing was really happening,\u201d he said. \u201cOne of the nurses asked if I wanted to try a new procedure. I thought OK, what the heck. I\u2019ve tried everything else.\u201d<\/p>\n
The idea of using his own cells to help his body heal was appealing to him, and he underwent the procedure in mid-May.<\/p>\n
Within two weeks, Paul was already seeing a significant difference.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a lot of faith in these doctors and nurses here. Any time they start something new, I\u2019m more than happy to try it out,\u201d he said. \u201cNot only for myself, but for whoever comes after me. And I\u2019m not disappointed by the results. This has been with me a long time, but it\u2019s starting to heal.\u201d<\/p>\n
UToledo Health was able to purchase the device, marketed by Louisiana-based Tides Medical, thanks to a donation from one of Nazzal\u2019s former patients.<\/p>\n
The funds also will allow UToledo Health to purchase a pair of other high-tech devices for wound care: an imaging device that helps identify potentially harmful levels of bacteria in wounds and a tool that measures oxygen saturation in wounds.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s our responsibility to stay up to date on the latest technology and knowledge so we can best serve our patients. These new technologies help us tailor the treatment plans to the specific patient needs,\u201d Nazzal said. \u201cWe are so grateful for our donor\u2019s faith in our program and their generosity that has allowed us to add these cutting-edge tools.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The new treatment uses artificial intelligence, the latest bioprinting technology and a patient\u2019s own cells to accelerate wound healing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":849,"featured_media":93347,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50,1,7,63],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93346"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/849"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93346"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93346\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93349,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93346\/revisions\/93349"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Portrait](\"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Munier-Nazzal-05292025-7615a-150x150.jpg\")
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