VU Faculty of Medicine Student Receives the Prestigious Andrew Pinter Award

At the Joint Congress of Paediatric Surgery held in Vienna, a scientific study titled “Mechanical Stability of 3D-Printed Nuss Implants for Pectus Excavatum Repair” by sixth-year Vilnius University Faculty of Medicine student Alicija Šavareikaitė and her colleagues was honoured with the prestigious EUPSA Andrew Pinter Award. This marks the first time the award has been presented to representatives of Lithuania.

The research was carried out in collaboration with paediatric surgeon Dr Paulius Valatka, Prof. Sergejus Borodinas of the Department of Applied Mechanics at VILNIUS TECH, Linas Jonušauskas, Head of MB “Lintrovert”, Prof. Artūras Kilikevičius, Chief Research Fellow at the Institute of Mechanical Science of VILNIUS TECH, and Dr Darius Vainorius. The presented study investigated the mechanical stability of Nuss implants manufactured using 3D-printing technologies, to apply innovative solutions for the correction of Pectus excavatum – a sunken chest wall deformity. This is a highly relevant topic in contemporary paediatric surgery, combining clinical expertise, engineering solutions, principles of personalised medicine, and advanced manufacturing technologies.

“Pectus excavatum is one of the most common congenital chest wall deformities. The Nuss procedure is widely used for its correction, during which a specially designed implant helps restore a more anatomically correct chest shape. As each patient’s anatomy is unique, increasing attention in modern surgery is being devoted to personalised solutions capable of more precisely matching the individual patient’s chest wall structure, biomechanical requirements, and long-term treatment goals,” said Šavareikaitė.

During the study conducted with her colleagues, 3D-printed Nuss implant models were designed, manufactured, and mechanically evaluated under laboratory conditions. This represented an important step towards integrating advanced 3D-printing technologies, biomechanical modelling, and personalised medicine into paediatric surgery.

The Andrew Pinter Award, named after the distinguished Hungarian paediatric surgeon, is presented in recognition of outstanding scientific research, innovation, and the contribution of young Eastern European researchers to the advancement of paediatric surgery. The award not only acknowledges high-quality scientific achievement but also encourages young specialists to actively contribute to the field of paediatric surgery.