A Valley plastic surgeon is using new 3D printing technology to help reconstruct faces.
"By doing the 3D printing we're taking a mirror image of his left side and projecting that on the devastating side. It gives you more of an exact match than doing it by hand,” said Dr. Pablo Prichard.
Dr. Prichard used the technology over the past year to help him reconstruct 17-year-old Jake Reynold's face.
The Valley teen was crossing a neighborhood street in January of 2015 when he was struck by a driver.
"The car was going 25-30 miles an hour, I was crossing the street and I got hit. I blacked out and woke up in the hospital late at night. That's all I remember," said Jake who was 16 at the time of the accident.
The force slammed Jake against the windshield of the car crushing his face, then he was thrown to the street. Not only were Jake's bones crushed, his face was ripped through the muscle right down to the molars.
"It was pretty tough, I was just hoping for the best and thank God Prichard was on my side. He happened to be on floor that day."
"This was a devastating injury to his face. He had crush wounds to his forehead, the eyeball socket wasn't just crushed but pulverized as far as the bone was concerned," recalled Dr. Prichard
That's when Prichard decided to use the 3D Printer technology, hoping he could help Jake return to a normal life.
"It's honestly just amazing," said Jake.
Four surgeries and a year later, the only evidence of Jake's traumatic are a few barely noticeable scars.
"It's a gnarly scar, but I can rock it."
"It all looks nice and symmetric which I'm happy with his scars are diminishing in their appearance," said Dr. Prichard.
Jake will undergo two more surgeries to help smooth out the scars and replace fat in his cheek. But he says it's all made him stronger and more confident.
"I look at myself in the mirror every day and I'm thankful," said Jake.
