A sculptor in his 50s whose cheekbone and eye socket were severely damaged in a motorcycle accident was able to return to work following reconstructive surgery that made use of a computer-assisted navigation system and 3D printing.
The artist, surnamed Peng (?), crashed his motorcycle into the back of another vehicle, but did not seek immediate medical treatment, as he only noticed bruising, swelling and a feeling of numbness in his left cheek, doctors said, adding that he decided to apply ice and leave his injuries to heal on their own.
When the swelling subsided after about one month, Peng noticed that his face had become asymmetrical, with his left eye socket drooping, while his left cheek was still numb, doctors said.
Peng also began to notice blurred vision when he was sculpting, so he finally went to Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in New Taipei City, almost three months after the accident, doctors said.
An examination revealed that he had a displaced fracture of his left cheek bone and an orbital blowout fracture which had caused his eyes to become misaligned, one of his surgeons, Liao Han-tsung (???) said.
