a badly ill toddler 's life was saved thanks to a replica of her heart made with a 3d printer . two-year-old mina khan was born with a hole in the wall between two chambers of her heart which left her struggling to survive . exhausted from pumping blood around the hole , which was initially feared too big to treat , she was left breathless and could n't eat - even her hair would n't grow . thriving at last : two-year-old mina khan was born with a hole in the wall between two chambers of her heart but surgeons were able to fix it thanks to a 3d facsimile of the organ printed in plastic . but after doctors at st thomas ' hospital in london created a precise copy of her tiny heart , including its defect , they were able to perfect the complicated procedure needed to cure mina . it meant when surgeons finally operated on the tiny girl they knew exactly what they were looking for and what to do when they found out . ` mina is like a normal little girl now , ' her mother natasha buckley , from bury , greater manchester , told sunday times science editor jonathan leake . ` she is eating , has stopped being sick and is growing at last . ' mina was born with a heart so deformed that doctors said it could not be repaired . with a hole between her ventricles , the two pumps that circulate blood to the heart and the lungs , she was left constantly tired , sickly and unable to put on weight , her mother told the sunday times . her only hope was for surgeons to try to patch the hole , but toddlers ' hearts are so small that even the most experienced paedatric heart specialists find them difficult to handle , making any operation risky . but thanks to the 3d model of her heart , based on the magnetic resonance imaging -lrb- mri -rrb- and computerised tomography scans , surgeons were able to design a bespoke patch and understand how it needed to be stitched into place . pioneering technique : dr gerald greil , who has pioneered the use of the 3d-printing technique at st thomas ' , said the model he and colleagues created helped them tailor the gore-tex patch stitched into mina 's heart . professor david anderson led the operating team . he told the sunday times mina had a ` very complex ' hole in her heart - the kind of case that can pose a ` huge intellectual challenge ' . ` the 3d printing meant we could create a model of her heart and then see the inside of it with a replica of the hole as it looked when the heart was pumping , ' he said . ` we could go into the operation with a much better idea of what we would find . ' dr gerald greil , who has pioneered the use of the 3d-printing technique at st thomas ' , said the model he and colleagues created also helped them tailor the gore-tex patch stitched into mina 's heart . the use of 3d-printed ` practice organs ' made to measure from mri scans of patients promises to become an important surgical tool in coming years . the process has featured in america and surgeons at a new york hospital created a 3d heart that saved the life of a two-week-old baby . and in southampton an entrepreneur with a 3d printing services company persuaded doctors to let him help them by making a model of his own kidney when he needed an operation to remove a kidney stone . medics say having the plastic kidney slashed an hour from his two-hour kidney stone removal operation earlier this month and the hospital is now trialling the process with 21 other patients . surgeon bhaskar somani , of southampton general hospital , said : it makes our job easier going in . ` the 3d model helps because it gives us a rough estimation of where to come from and to be more precise . ' a pair of twin babies was safely delivered during a russian flight when one of the passengers unexpectedly went into labour . irina vasylkova was in the 35th week of her pregnancy when she boarded the polar airlines flight from zyryanka , in the east russian sakha republic to yakutsk , the capital city of the sakha republic . but . shortly into the journey the 25-year-old began to experience labour pains . delivery : the first baby was born while the plane was airborne and the second arrived as it landed . stewardess christina . kondratiev first moved the young woman to a seat with more legroom , and then attempted to make her feel relaxed , in the hope that the . delivery would wait until the plane could land . she said : ' i told the pilot and he sped up the flight to make sure that we could arrive as early as possible , but it was clear that the delivery was not going to wait . ' staying calm : stewardess christina kondratiev alerted the pilot and asked if there were any doctors on board . generous : polar airlines are preparing gifts for the mother and her twin babies , including free travel for life on any of their planes . she then made an appeal to . see if there was a doctor on board the type an-26 aircraft , and was . rewarded with a positive reply when obstetrician elena sleptcova , 47 , . stepped up and offered to help . the first baby was born while the plane was airborne and the second was born just as it landed , giving the new mother twin girls before she was wheeled out into the arrivals lounge . new mum : irina vasylkova , pictured here on a social networking site . mother and daughters were taken to a local hospital where all three are doing fine , and the new arrivals have already met their older sister , angelina , aged four . and as a special bonus , polar airlines are preparing gifts for the mother and her . twin babies , including free travel for life on any polar . airlines plane .
mina khan was born with a hole between two chambers of her heart . surgeons made a precise 3d copy of the organ to work out how to fix it . it helped them understand what to do when they carried out the surgery .
a badly ill toddler 's life was saved thanks to a replica of her heart made with a 3d printer . two-year-old mina khan was born with a hole in the wall between two chambers of her heart which left her struggling to survive . exhausted from pumping blood around the hole , which was initially feared too big to treat , she was left breathless and could n't eat - even her hair would n't grow . thriving at last : two-year-old mina khan was born with a hole in the wall between two chambers of her heart but surgeons were able to fix it thanks to a 3d facsimile of the organ printed in plastic . but after doctors at st thomas ' hospital in london created a precise copy of her tiny heart , including its defect , they were able to perfect the complicated procedure needed to cure mina . it meant when surgeons finally operated on the tiny girl they knew exactly what they were looking for and what to do when they found out . ` mina is like a normal little girl now , ' her mother natasha buckley , from bury , greater manchester , told sunday times science editor jonathan leake . ` she is eating , has stopped being sick and is growing at last . ' mina was born with a heart so deformed that doctors said it could not be repaired . with a hole between her ventricles , the two pumps that circulate blood to the heart and the lungs , she was left constantly tired , sickly and unable to put on weight , her mother told the sunday times . her only hope was for surgeons to try to patch the hole , but toddlers ' hearts are so small that even the most experienced paedatric heart specialists find them difficult to handle , making any operation risky . but thanks to the 3d model of her heart , based on the magnetic resonance imaging -lrb- mri -rrb- and computerised tomography scans , surgeons were able to design a bespoke patch and understand how it needed to be stitched into place . pioneering technique : dr gerald greil , who has pioneered the use of the 3d-printing technique at st thomas ' , said the model he and colleagues created helped them tailor the gore-tex patch stitched into mina 's heart . professor david anderson led the operating team . he told the sunday times mina had a ` very complex ' hole in her heart - the kind of case that can pose a ` huge intellectual challenge ' . ` the 3d printing meant we could create a model of her heart and then see the inside of it with a replica of the hole as it looked when the heart was pumping , ' he said . ` we could go into the operation with a much better idea of what we would find . ' dr gerald greil , who has pioneered the use of the 3d-printing technique at st thomas ' , said the model he and colleagues created also helped them tailor the gore-tex patch stitched into mina 's heart . the use of 3d-printed ` practice organs ' made to measure from mri scans of patients promises to become an important surgical tool in coming years . the process has featured in america and surgeons at a new york hospital created a 3d heart that saved the life of a two-week-old baby . and in southampton an entrepreneur with a 3d printing services company persuaded doctors to let him help them by making a model of his own kidney when he needed an operation to remove a kidney stone . medics say having the plastic kidney slashed an hour from his two-hour kidney stone removal operation earlier this month and the hospital is now trialling the process with 21 other patients . surgeon bhaskar somani , of southampton general hospital , said : it makes our job easier going in . ` the 3d model helps because it gives us a rough estimation of where to come from and to be more precise . ' a pair of twin babies was safely delivered during a russian flight when one of the passengers unexpectedly went into labour . irina vasylkova was in the 35th week of her pregnancy when she boarded the polar airlines flight from zyryanka , in the east russian sakha republic to yakutsk , the capital city of the sakha republic . but . a local hospital where all three are doing fine , and the new arrivals have already met their older sister , angelina , aged four . and as a special bonus , polar airlines are preparing gifts for the mother and her . twin babies , including free travel for life on any polar . airlines plane .
a badly ill toddler 's life was saved thanks to a replica of her heart made with a 3d printer . two-year-old mina khan was born with a hole in the wall between two chambers of her heart which left her struggling to survive . exhausted from pumping blood around the hole , which was initially feared too big to treat , she was left breathless and could n't eat - even her hair would n't grow . thriving at last : two-year-old mina khan was born with a hole in the wall between two chambers of her heart but surgeons were able to fix it thanks to a 3d facsimile of the organ printed in plastic . but after doctors at st thomas ' hospital in london created a precise copy of her tiny heart , including its defect , they were able to perfect the complicated procedure needed to cure mina . it meant when surgeons finally operated on the tiny girl they knew exactly what they were looking for and what to do when they found out . ` mina is like a normal little girl now , ' her mother natasha buckley , from bury , greater manchester , told sunday times science editor jonathan leake . ` she is eating , has stopped being sick and is growing at last . ' mina was born with a heart so deformed that doctors said it could not be repaired . with a hole between her ventricles , the two pumps that circulate blood to the heart and the lungs , she was left constantly tired , sickly and unable to put on weight , her mother told the sunday times . her only hope was for surgeons to try to patch the hole , but toddlers ' hearts are so small that even the most experienced paedatric heart specialists find them difficult to handle , making any operation risky . but thanks to the 3d model of her heart , based on the magnetic resonance imaging -lrb- mri -rrb- and computerised tomography scans , surgeons were able to design a bespoke patch and understand how it needed to be stitched into place . pioneering technique : dr gerald greil , who has pioneered the use of the 3d-printing technique at st thomas ' , said the model he and colleagues created helped them tailor the gore-tex patch stitched into mina 's heart . professor david anderson led the operating team . he told the sunday times mina had a ` very complex ' hole in her heart - the kind of case that can pose a ` huge intellectual challenge ' . ` the 3d printing meant we could create a model of her heart and then see the inside of it with a replica of the hole as it looked when the heart was pumping , ' he said . ` we could go into the operation with a much better idea of what we would find . ' dr gerald greil , who has pioneered the use of the 3d-printing technique at st thomas ' , said the model he and colleagues created also helped them tailor the gore-tex patch stitched into mina 's heart . the use of 3d-printed ` practice organs ' made to measure from mri scans of patients promises to become an important surgical tool in coming years . the process has featured in america and surgeons at a new york hospital created a 3d heart that saved the life of a two-week-old baby . and in southampton an entrepreneur with a 3d printing services company persuaded doctors to let him help them by making a model of his own kidney when he needed an operation to remove a kidney stone . medics say having the plastic kidney slashed an hour from his two-hour kidney stone removal operation earlier this month and the hospital is now trialling the process with 21 other patients . surgeon bhaskar somani , of southampton general hospital , said : it makes our job easier going in . ` the 3d model helps because it gives us a rough estimation of where to come from and to be more precise . ' a pair of twin babies was safely delivered during a russian flight when one of the passengers unexpectedly went into labour . irina vasylkova was in the 35th week of her pregnancy when she boarded the polar airlines flight from zyryanka , in the east russian sakha republic to yakutsk , the capital city of the sakha republic . but . on board . generous : polar airlines are preparing gifts for the mother and her twin babies , including free travel for life on any of their planes . she then made an appeal to . see if there was a doctor on board the type an-26 aircraft , and was . rewarded with a positive reply when obstetrician elena sleptcova , 47 , . stepped up and offered to help . the first baby was born while the plane was airborne and the second was born just as it landed , giving the new mother twin girls before she was wheeled out into the arrivals lounge . new mum : irina vasylkova , pictured here on a social networking site . mother and daughters were taken to a local hospital where all three are doing fine , and the new arrivals have already met their older sister , angelina , aged four . and as a special bonus , polar airlines are preparing gifts for the mother and her . twin babies , including free travel for life on any polar . airlines plane .
a badly ill toddler 's life thanks a replica her heart made. two-year-old mina khan was born a hole the wall between two chambers which left struggling survive. exhausted from pumping blood around the hole, which initially feared too treat left breathless could n't eat - even her hair would n't. thriving last : two-year-old mina khan was a hole the wall between two chambers but surgeons thanks a 3d facsimile printed plastic. but after doctors at st thomas ' hospital london created a precise copy her tiny heart, including its defect perfect the complicated procedure needed cure mina. it meant when surgeons finally operated the tiny girl knew looking when. ` mina is like a normal little girl now, ' her mother natasha buckley, from bury, greater manchester told sunday times science editor jonathan leake. ` she is eating, has stopped being sick growing at last. ' mina was born with so deformed doctors repaired. with a hole between her ventricles, the two pumps circulate she was left constantly tired, sickly unable put her mother the sunday times her only hope surgeons try patch the hole, toddlers ' hearts so even the most experienced paedatric heart specialists find handle, making any operation risky but thanks the 3d model her heart, based the magnetic resonance -lrb- mri -rrb- and computerised tomography scans surgeons were design a bespoke patch and understand needed stitched place pioneering technique : dr gerald greil, who pioneered at st thomas ', said the model he and created helped tailor the gore-tex patch stitched mina 's heart. professor david anderson led the operating team. he told the sunday times mina had a ` very complex ' hole - the kind case pose a ` huge intellectual challenge '. ` the 3d printing meant we a model her heart then see the inside with a replica the hole as looked when pumping, ' he. ` we could go into the operation find. ' dr gerald greil, who pioneered at st thomas ' said the model he and created also helped tailor the gore-tex patch stitched mina 's heart. the use 3d-printed ` practice organs made to measure from mri scans patients promises become coming years. the process has featured america surgeons at a new york hospital created a 3d heart that saved. and in southampton an entrepreneur with a 3d printing services company persuaded doctors let help by a model when needed. medics say having the plastic kidney slashed an hour from his two-hour kidney stone removal operation earlier and the hospital is trialling the process with 21 other patients. surgeon bhaskar somani, of southampton general hospital said : it makes our job going in. ` the 3d model helps because gives a rough estimation where to come to be. ' a pair twin babies was safely delivered during a russian flight when one unexpectedly went. irina vasylkova was in the 35th week boarded the polar airlines flight zyryanka, in the east russian sakha republic yakutsk. but. shortly into the journey the 25 began experience labour pains. delivery : the first baby was while the plane airborne arrived as it. stewardess christina. kondratiev first moved the young woman a seat with more legroom, attempted make relaxed, in. delivery would wait the plane could. she : i told the pilot and sped could arrive as early, clear the delivery wait. ' staying calm : stewardess christina kondratiev alerted the pilot and asked there any doctors. generous : polar airlines preparing gifts the mother her twin babies, including free travel life on any she then made an appeal. see if a doctor board the type an-26 aircraft, was. rewarded with a positive reply when obstetrician elena sleptcova, 47. stepped offered. the first baby was while the plane airborne just as, giving the new mother twin girls before wheeled the arrivals lounge new mum : irina vasylkova, pictured a social networking site. mother and daughters were taken all are doing, the new arrivals already met their older sister angelina aged four and as a special bonus, polar airlines preparing gifts the mother. twin babies, including free travel life on any polar. airlines plane.
a badly ill toddler 's life was saved thanks to a replica of her heart made with a 3d printer . two-year-old mina khan was born with a hole in the wall between two chambers of her heart which left her struggling to survive . exhausted from pumping blood around the hole , which was initially feared too big to treat , she was left breathless and could n't eat - even her hair would n't grow . thriving at last : two-year-old mina khan was born with a hole in the wall between two chambers of her heart but surgeons were able to fix it thanks to a 3d facsimile of the organ printed in plastic . but after doctors at st thomas ' hospital in london created a precise copy of her tiny heart , including its defect , they were able to perfect the complicated procedure needed to cure mina . it meant when surgeons finally operated on the tiny girl they knew exactly what they were looking for and what to do when they found out . ` mina is like a normal little girl now , ' her mother natasha buckley , from bury , greater manchester , told sunday times science editor jonathan leake . ` she is eating , has stopped being sick and is growing at last . ' mina was born with a heart so deformed that doctors said it could not be repaired . with a hole between her ventricles , the two pumps that circulate use of the 3d-printing technique at st thomas ' , said the model he and colleagues created also helped them tailor the gore-tex patch stitched into mina 's heart . the use of 3d-printed ` practice organs ' made to measure from mri scans of patients promises to become an important surgical tool in coming years . the process has featured in america and surgeons at a new york hospital created a 3d heart that saved the life of a two-week-old baby . and in southampton an entrepreneur with a 3d printing services company persuaded doctors to let him help them by making a model of his own kidney when he needed an operation to remove a kidney stone . medics say having the plastic kidney slashed an hour from his two-hour kidney stone removal operation earlier this month and the hospital is now trialling the process with 21 other patients . surgeon bhaskar somani , of southampton general hospital , said : it makes our job easier going in . ` the 3d model helps because it gives us a rough estimation of where to come from and to be more precise . ' a pair of twin babies was safely delivered during a russian flight when one of the passengers unexpectedly went into labour . irina vasylkova was in the 35th week of her pregnancy when she boarded the polar airlines flight from zyryanka , in the east russian sakha republic to yakutsk , the capital city of the sakha republic . but . a local hospital where all three are doing fine , and the new arrivals have already met their older sister , angelina , aged four . and as a special bonus , polar airlines are preparing gifts for the mother and her . twin babies , including free travel for life on any polar . airlines plane .
 The article tells the story of Mina Khan, a two-year-old girl who was born with a hole in her heart. Doctors initially thought it couldn't be repaired, but thanks to a 3D printed replica of her heart, surgeons were able to perfect the complicated procedure needed to cure her. The article highlights how this innovative technology has helped save lives and is becoming an important surgical tool.