Recently, Professor Li Feng of the Cardiac Center (Cardiovascular Surgery) of the Sixth People’s Hospital of Shanghai Jiao Tong University applied 3D printing technology for the first time in the world to treat aortic aneurysm, successfully performed transthoracic ascending aortic aneurysm blocking and carried out difficult operations to save pregnant women with severe heart failure, marking a new level of comprehensive diagnosis and treatment in the Cardiac Center of the hospital. It is reported that in order to facilitate the consultation of heart disease patients, the hospital adjusted the outpatient layout in February 2012, integrating cardiovascular medicine and cardiothoracic surgery into a “joint cardiovascular disease department”, the general outpatient clinic and special outpatient clinic of the two departments are concentrated in a consultation area on the 4th floor of the outpatient clinic, adjacent to the clinical cardiac function room, echocardiography room and radiology, and The hardware change provides a more complete, convenient and comfortable treatment environment for heart disease patients. Two years later (November 2014), the hospital established a heart center based on this foundation, with Professor Wei Meng of cardiology as the director and Professor Li Feng of cardiac surgery as the administrative deputy director, where cardiology and cardiac surgery specialists work together to treat cardiovascular diseases, and have now carried out standardized medical and surgical treatment of coronary artery disease, heart valve disease and pediatric precocious heart disease. Patients from all over the country not only have easy access to the outpatient clinic, but also have integrated management of the outpatient clinic and ward, making the outpatient, inpatient and post-discharge follow-up medical procedures intertwined. Mr. Yuan, 44 years old, from Chaohu, Anhui Province, came to the hospital three weeks ago with blood in his sputum and was initially suspected of having a right anterior superior mediastinum occupancy and was admitted to the thoracic surgery ward. After admission, further examination revealed that Mr. Yuan had a 4 cm diameter hemangioma in his ascending aorta, which required surgery and was transferred to the heart center. According to Prof. Reed Feng, Mr. Yuan’s aneurysm was located in the ascending aorta and was about 4 centimeters in diameter and about 2 centimeters wide at the connection with the ascending aorta. Normally, the ascending aorta needs to be removed and a section of artificial blood vessel replaced to completely cure. However, CT examination revealed that Mr. Yuan’s aortic vessel wall was extensively calcified and stiff, like an eggshell. If vascular replacement was implemented, extracorporeal circulation would inevitably have to be established, and intubation in Mr. Yuan’s aorta would most likely damage the vessel wall and cause secondary hazards, seriously threatening Mr. Yuan’s life safety! At the same time, Mr. Yuan’s aortic aneurysm was still expanding, and if not treated in time, there was always a risk of rupture or formation of aortic coarctation. As a senior expert in the field of cardiovascular surgery in China, Professor Li Feng has more than 20 years of rich theoretical and clinical experience in the field of cardiovascular surgery and has visited the Cleveland Clinic and MayoClinic, the two most famous heart centers in the U.S. He is good at absorbing the most advanced surgical theories and methods at home and abroad, and has In 2006, he was the first in the world to perform surgical closure of ventricular septal defect, and he has rich experience in the treatment of complex cardiovascular diseases such as coronary artery bypass grafting, revalve replacement, reoperation of tricuspid valve lesion after valve replacement, and treatment of aortic coarctation, etc. He has a high success rate in surgery and is a leader in China. Director Reed is good at “playing hardball” and handling difficult cases. If conventional surgery is not possible, is it possible to use “unconventional” surgery? Professor Reed, who has many years of experience in occluding atrial septal/ventricular septal defects, had a flash of light: the aorta could be isolated from the aneurysm by inserting a blocker, which would cause little damage and have a definite effect. However, the placement of the occluder was a challenge, and no such occlusion experience had been reported in the literature. Professor Reed decided to use transthoracic aneurysm external puncture, which means opening the chest cavity, exposing the aneurysm, and placing the blocker through the puncture guide wire under direct vision to block the defect in the vessel wall. However, there is still a problem that there is no commercially available occluder for aneurysms. Thinking of the recent popularity of 3D printing technology, Professor Reed had another solution: first, he obtained 3D reconstruction data of the ascending aorta, used 3D printing to create a model of the aneurysm, and then designed a suitable blocker based on the model. After everything was ready and the aortic aneurysm was successfully revealed on the operating table, the relationship between the aneurysm, the aneurysm neck and the ascending aorta was determined by transesophageal ultrasound, and Professor Reed skillfully placed the puncture guidewire in place. The blocker will mechanize the thrombus within the aneurysm, further reducing the risk of aneurysm rupture and bleeding. Professor Reed said the entire blocking procedure took just over ten minutes and had minimal impact on cardiac ejection and aortic blood flow, providing Mr. Yuan with the greatest safety benefit at a minimal cost. Mr. Yuan recovered quickly after the operation, and a repeat cardiac ultrasound and aortic CT confirmed the results of the procedure. According to the retrieval, the procedure was the first of its kind in China and reached a world-leading level. “The success of this surgery opens up new ideas for the treatment of complex ascending aortic aneurysms, and is the first case of its kind in China and internationally, and more such patients will benefit from it.” Professor Li Feng said. A 26-year-old woman living in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province, who was more than 20 weeks pregnant, had a high fever for several days and had difficulty breathing. The woman’s life was finally saved.