<p>In 2025, scientists put a living patch on a failing human heart. It grew blood vessels. It kept patients alive. They called it a heart Band-Aid.That is one of the many ways 3D printing is changing medicine right now.This week on Sports Doc Talk, Will Sanchez and Dr. Grant Garcia, orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist. Take on a topic they have been building for nearly a year. 3D printing in medicine and sports surgery, 2026 edition. Where things actually stand. What is happening in operating rooms today. And what is coming next.Dr. Garcia uses 3D printing in his practice every week. Surgical guides, custom implants, pre-surgical models. He breaks down how a CT scan can design a surgery before the patient is ever on the table, why custom-printed implants are giving younger patients with severe joint damage options they never had before, and how patient-specific instrumentation is cutting measurement error from two degrees down to 0.6 percent.He also gets into the things most medical podcasts skip: the insurance reimbursement gap, Medicare's proposed 20% cuts, and why the technology is running ahead of the system designed to pay for it.If you have ever wondered what medicine looks like in five years, this episode gives you a real answer.Find us at sportsdoctalk.com and on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and iHeart.Brought to you by The Recovery Shop.</p>

3D Printing in Medicine and Sports Surgery: What Is Real, What Is Coming, and What It Means for Patients

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