When Garrett Peterson was born , nurses could n't rotate his head from side to side . Doing so made him turn blue instantly . `` I will never forget seeing him for the first time like that , '' his mom , Natalie Peterson , said in a YouTube video posted by University of Michigan 's C.S . Mott Children 's Hospital . `` That was hard . '' Garrett was born with tetralogy of Fallot with absent pulmonary valve -- a fancy way of saying he had a hole between the lower chambers of his heart , which put extreme pressure on his lungs . The pressure caused his airways to collapse ; in essence , he was trying to breathe through tiny slits . This condition is called severe tracheobronchomalacia . `` In some ways the heart defect is relatively straightforward to fix , '' Dr. Richard Ohye , head of pediatric cardiovascular surgery at C.S . Mott Children 's Hospital , said in the video . `` It 's the lung issues and the airway issues that are the bigger problem . '' The Petersons spent months watching their son turn blue four or five times a day as hospital staff struggled to revive him , according to a university press release . Garrett was put on a ventilator and heavy medication to prevent him from fighting the breathing tube . Then in May 2013 , Garrett 's father , Jake Peterson , read an article about another baby with a similar breathing problem . Kaiba Gionfriddo had a rare obstruction in his lungs called bronchial malacia . Using an experimental technique never before tried on a human , Peterson read , doctors created a splint made out of biological material that effectively carved a path through Kaiba 's blocked airway . The splint was created on a three-dimensional printer . `` It 's magical to me , '' Dr. Glenn Green , an associate professor of pediatric otolaryngology at the University of Michigan , told CNN at the time . Green implanted the splint in Kaiba . `` We 're talking about taking dust and using it to build body parts . '' Kaiba is now 2 years old and free of symptoms related to his bronchial malacia . Read more about Kaiba 's story . The Petersons decided to reach out to see if Green would be interested in helping Garrett . Devices created with 3-D printers have not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in humans . Green and his colleague , biomedical engineer Scott Hollister , had gotten emergency clearance from the FDA to try the treatment on Kaiba . But by December , Garrett was in critical condition . His parents took him to the Michigan hospital , and Green obtained another emergency clearance from the FDA . After doing a CT scan of Garrett 's trachea and bronchi , Hollister used a 3-D printer to create a splint out of a biopolymer called polycaprolactone . On January 31 , Ohye sewed the splint around Garrett 's right and left bronchi to expand his airway . The doctors say the splint will be absorbed by Garrett 's body during the next three years as his airways grow stronger . In the meantime , Garrett is breathing easier and needs less help from the ventilator . `` It is a tremendous feeling to know that this device has saved another child , '' Hollister said in the press release . `` We believe there are many other applications for these techniques , but to see the impact living and breathing in front of you is overwhelming . '' `` Severe tracheobronchomalacia has been a condition that has frustrated me for years , '' added Green . `` I 've seen children die from it . To see this device work , for a second time , it 's a major accomplishment and offers hope for these children . '' Green and Hollister will be participating in a Reddit `` Ask Me Anything '' Tuesday at noon ET . Three weeks after the surgery , Garrett was smiling at his parents . `` We have n't seen smiles for awhile , so getting smiles is very exciting , '' Natalie Peterson said in the video . Doctors believe Garrett will be able to come off the ventilator fully within a matter of months . The couple plan to take their 18-month-old boy home for the first time then . 3-D printed hearts and lungs : The shape of medicine to come .
Toddler with severe tracheobronchomalacia saved by 3-D printed device . Score: 7 The splint is helping Garrett Peterson breathe easier with less assistance from ventilator . The Petersons hope to take their son home soon .