Cancer patient gets first pelvis implant

(ANSA) - Turin, February 25 - Doctors on Wednesday completed the first-ever implant of a titanium hemipelvis into the body of an 18-year-old affected with bone cancer of the pelvis, ANSA sources said.
    In the 12-hour operation, doctors removed the patient's cancer-ridden right hemipelvis and hip bone and replaced them with an identical implant constructed in the United States.
    The implant was made of titanium and tantalum, a metal that bonds with human bones. The patient had undergone 16 rounds of chemotherapy in the past year and will be moved to the oncology ward of Turin's CTO Hospital on Wednesday afternoon to begin post-operation recovery.