First ever artificial jaw joint implantation performed in Croatia

(Photo credit: KBC Dubrava)

Croatia has achieved yet another medical milestone with the first implantation of personalised titanium jaw joint prostheses, setting a new standard in maxillofacial surgery.

On the 27th and 28th of November 2024, the first personalised titanium jaw joint endoprostheses were implanted in Croatia at the Clinical Hospital Dubrava (KBC Dubrava) in Zagreb.

These groundbreaking procedures were carried out at the Department of Maxillofacial, Oral, and Facial Surgery at the hospital.

Under the leadership of Associate Professor Dr Emil Dediol, the surgical team performed a three-hour operation to treat a 25-year-old woman suffering from ankylosis of the left jaw joint.

The procedure involved removing ossified parts of the mandibular condyle and joint socket and replacing them with a custom-made 3D-printed titanium prosthesis, KBC Dubrava said.

The following day, a surgical team led by Dr Koraljka Hat performed the same procedure on a 38-year-old man who had previously had his joint removed during tumour resection surgery.

The operations involved a multidisciplinary team, including assistants Dr Marko Tarle, Igor Čvrljević, MD, and Marko Lagančić, MD; anaesthesiologist Monika Ilić, MD; anaesthetic technician Irina Bošnjak; and surgical nurses Alma Zlački, Petra Novosel, and Tina Čartolovni.

(Photo credit: KBC Dubrava)

Also participating was clinical engineer Santiago Gutierrez Restrepo from Materialise, a Belgian company where both prostheses were designed and manufactured.

Professor Ivica Lukšić, Head of the Department, emphasised that introducing these advanced surgical techniques further elevates the already high standards and quality of healthcare provided at the clinic.

He noted that this development places the Department of Maxillofacial, Oral, and Facial Surgery at Dubrava University Hospital among the leading global centres for maxillofacial surgery.