Dr. Emile Bacha, of New York Presbyterian Hospital, used a 3D printed heart to save the life of a two week old baby. The infant was suffering with a congenital heart defect, which creates holes inside the heart. Previously this kind of surgery would require stopping the heart, opening it to look inside, and then deciding on what to do that same moment. The old way gave surgeons a limited amount of time to decide on what to do. Thanks to 3D printing though, Dr. Bacha and his team were able to recreate a model of the bad heart in advance so they could determine the best plan for the actual surgery. The model allowed him and his team to examine the heart and even cut it open to know exactly what need to be done during the open heart surgery. Dr. Bacha said, 'It made a huge difference because the baby went from needing 3 or 4 surgeries to needing just one surgery." he also added "He went from having limited lifespan to a normal life expectancy."