At just two years old, LM (a patient whose full name is withheld for privacy) was living with a rare and life-threatening heart defect that made every heartbeat a struggle. Standard surgical planning tools couldn’t fully capture the complexity of the child’s condition, but a new kind of collaboration offered a different path. Using advanced 3D modeling and blood-flow simulations, the surgical team was able to plan and perform a highly personalized operation that may have changed the course of the child’s life.
The effort was led by pediatric cardiac surgeon Ignacio Berra of Garrahan Hospital in Buenos Aires, Argentina, who teamed up with researchers at the Balseiro Institute—a leading nuclear science and engineering center based in Bariloche, a city nestled in the Andes in the far south of the country. Together, they are applying scientific modeling to one of the most difficult areas in pediatric surgery: navigating the unpredictable anatomy of children born with complex heart defects.
By converting medical images into detailed 3D models and simulating blood flow through the patient’s heart, the team was able to plan the procedure down to the millimeter before entering the operating room (OR). This approach gives surgeons a much clearer sense of what to expect and how best to proceed. LM was the first patient to benefit from this method, but the team hopes many more will follow.
Berra brings a wealth of international experience, including a two-year fellowship in cardiac surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital, as well as additional training at institutions such as Leeds Children’s Hospital in the U.K., under the guidance of Dr. Carin van Doorn, a globally recognized expert in congenital cardiac surgery. For this project, he joined forces with a multidisciplinary team from the Balseiro Institute, led by engineer and principal investigator Enzo Dari.
Pre-operative 3D modeling.
Reconstructing a Beating Puzzle
The process starts with standard imaging—CT or MRI scans—of the young patient’s heart. In the case shared with 3DPrint.com, the child had a rare congenital heart defect that severely affected the normal blood flow. Rather than relying only on 2D scans and surgical experience to understand the malformation, Berra turned again to advanced technology.
He sent anonymized scans to researchers at Balseiro, where the team created a 3D digital model of the heart using specialized software. Every chamber, vessel, and abnormality was rendered in full color and detail.
Next, they ran simulations to model how blood would flow through the malformed heart. With pressure maps and directional flow data, the team could visualize how blood would behave under different surgical scenarios, long before a single incision was made.
From Digital Heart to Operating Table
The collaboration didn’t stop at the screen. Before the surgery, the team took things a step further. They 3D printed a full-scale model of the patient’s heart, and connected it to a pulsatile pump that mimicked the rhythm of real blood flow. This allowed them to recreate the child’s condition in a lab setting, pressurizing the aorta and testing how blood would flow through the repaired heart.
The 3D printed model also served as a mold for shaping a custom Gore-Tex patch, a soft, medical-grade material often used in heart surgeries. The patch was designed to create a tunnel between the left ventricle and the aorta. In short, the team didn’t just simulate the operation—they practiced and refined it ahead of time.
Armed with detailed models and precise measurements, Berra and his surgical team entered the OR to perform the procedure. Sutures were placed, patches added, and valves carefully reconstructed, all based on the pre-surgical planning done with the Balseiro models. Without that level of planning, the procedure would have carried even higher risks.
⚠️ Warning: The following video contains graphic medical content recorded in the operating room. Viewer discretion is advised.
⚠️ Graphic Medical Video
An Unlikely but Powerful Team
A partnership between a leading children’s hospital and a nuclear science institute might sound unusual, but in this case, it made perfect sense.
Balseiro, which operates under Argentina’s National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA), trains many of the country’s top minds in physics, engineering, and applied science. In recent years, researchers there have developed expertise in fluid dynamics, biomechanics, and simulation—all tools with clear potential in healthcare.
Meanwhile, Garrahan handles some of the most demanding pediatric surgeries in Argentina and throughout Latin America. As part of the country’s public healthcare network, the hospital offers free care to patients from across the nation, as well as from neighboring countries such as Bolivia, Paraguay, and Peru.
By crossing disciplines, Berra and the Balseiro team are changing how high-risk surgeries are prepared and performed. Instead of entering the OR with limited information, surgeons can now rely on detailed simulations, 3D models, and customized planning tools.
Cardiac surgeon Ignacio Berra at Garrahan Hospital, Argentina. Image courtesy of 3DPrint.com.
Why This Matters
While 3D planning and simulations are beginning to emerge at major surgical centers in Europe and the U.S., this level of interdisciplinary collaboration remains rare in Latin America. That’s part of what makes this story so notable.
Berra and the researchers at Balseiro aren’t just using high-tech tools; they’re redefining what’s possible when two very different institutions work together with a shared goal: to give children with serious heart conditions a better chance at life.
“This isn’t just about technology,” Berra told 3DPrint.com. “It’s about giving doctors more confidence before surgery, and giving patients a better shot at survival. The project also shows how expertise from fields like physics and engineering, traditionally far removed from the OR, can have a direct and lasting impact on medical care.”
As the collaboration continues, the team hopes to expand its methods, incorporating more 3D printing and new simulation tools to plan complex procedures in advance.
At the center of it all is a belief that Argentine institutions can achieve more when they work together, and that when used effectively, technology is more than just a tool. It’s a lifeline.
Who Made It Happen: The project brought together a diverse team of professionals from both the medical and engineering fields. From the Balseiro Institute, contributors included researchers Paola Córdoba Estrada and Daniela Lucía Arnica, multimedia designer Pablo Takeuchi, electronics engineer Sebastián Berra, and industrial designer Alfredo Irusta, who brings experience from Argentina’s Navy design corps. From Hospital Garrahan, the surgical team included pediatric cardiovascular surgeons Laura Zenobi, Rocío Boudou, Javier Cornelis, and Pablo García Delucis, alongside pediatric cardiologists Julia Blando and Fernando Diez Mori, as well as Guido Corna Frasson, a specialist in automation and robotics.
All images and video courtesy of Ignacio Berra/Garrahan Hospital, except where otherwise noted.
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