Any type of surgery, from the simplest to the more complex, brings potential risks with it; any number of things can go wrong. That's why Alistair Phillips, a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon specializing in the hand, wrist, and elbow who works at Spire Southampton Hospital and the Hampshire Hand Surgery Clinic, has a personal philosophy to treat his patients without surgery if at all possible, and only offers surgery as a medical solution if he honestly believes that it will improve a patient's condition, with minimal risk involved. His goal is to keep patients in the hospital for as short a time as possible - the longer you stay in the hospital, the greater the risk of infection. 3D printing can often help with this goal, but not every surgeon goes straight to this technology as a first option. After Phillips performed a recent surgery, a complication arose that put the patient in a lot of pain, and would need a second surgery. So Phillips called in the cavalry for a 3D approach to the impending wrist osteotomy. Read more at 3DPrint.com: http://3dprint.com/165853/materialis...ist-osteotomy/