A hospital in Guangdong province successfully performed surgery on a patient who suffered from acetabular fractures using 3D printing technology, Southern Metropolis Daily reported on Thursday.

The full simulation of the "fracture of acetabulum" was printed out by a 3D printer before the surgery was conducted at the No 3 Hospital Affiliated to Southern Medical University in the provincial capital Guangzhou.

The patient surnamed Zhang, 43, who suffered serious acetabular fractures in a fall, could sit up the second day after the surgery.

It was the first time 3D printing technology has been in clinical treatment in the southern province.