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When Tal Golesworthy was told he needed lifesaving heart surgery in 1993, he said no.
1993年，當塔爾·高爾斯沃西被告知他需要接受拯救生命的心臟手術時，他說不。
Golesworthy has Marfan syndrome, a genetic condition affecting the strength and elasticity of connective body tissues, including blood vessels.
高爾斯沃西患有馬凡氏綜合癥，這是一種影響結締組織（包括血管）強度和彈性的遺傳病。
Back in 1993, when he was living in Cheltenham, in the west of England,
早在1993年，他住在英格蘭西部的切爾滕納姆時，
his doctor told him that a major artery in his heart, the aorta, was so enlarged that it would inevitably rupture unless he underwent major surgery.
他的醫生就說，他心臟里的一條大動脈，即主動脈過度增大，如果不做大手術，它將不可避免地破裂。
"They talked through the surgical options," says Golesworthy, "and I was not interested.
“他們討論了手術的選擇，” 高爾斯沃西說，“我對此不感興趣。
The operation really didn't look attractive."
手術看起來并不具有吸引力?！?/p>
What he particularly didn't like was having to be on blood thinners after the operation,
他特別不喜歡的是術后必須使用血液稀釋劑，
something that would prevent blood clots but presented its own risks:
這種方法可以防止血栓形成，但也有風險：
"I was riding motorbikes then, and skiing, so my whole lifestyle would have been affected."
“當時我騎摩托車、滑雪，所以我的整個生活方式都會受到影響?！?/p>
By 2000, however, his condition had worsened. Realizing something had to be done,
然而到了2000年，他的病情惡化。高爾斯沃西意識到必須做些什么，
Golesworthy put his years of experience as research-and-development engineer with the United Kingdom's National Coal Board to good use.
他充分利用自己在英國國家煤炭委員會（National Coal Board）擔任研發工程師的多年經驗。
He decided he would fix himself. "Learning new stuff and developing new ideas, that was my job," Golesworthy says.
他決定自己進行修復，高爾斯沃西說：“學習新東西，發展新思想，這是我的工作?！?。
A bulging aorta, he reckoned, was much like a bulging hydraulic hose—it needed external support.
他認為，鼓起的主動脈就像一個膨脹的液壓軟管，需要外部支撐。
And wrapping something around the outside of the aorta would require a less invasive operation.
在主動脈外包裹一些東西需要實施較少的侵入性手術，
So Golesworthy subjected himself to 30 hours in an MRI scanner;
因此，高爾斯沃西接受了30個小時的核磁共振掃描；
used 3D printing to create a physical replica of the faulty part of his heart (the aortic root);
使用3D打印技術制作了心臟缺陷部位（主動脈根部）的物理復制品；
and then used soft, porous textile mesh to make a sleeve to fit around it.
然后用柔軟、多孔的織物網制作了一個袖子，使其能套在周圍。
"Luckily, I'd done a lot of work with technical textiles, looking at filters for flue gases in coal-fire processes," he says.
他說，“幸運的是，我在技術性紡織品方面做過很多工作，以研究燃煤過程中的煙氣過濾器?！?。
Sheer determination coupled with an original yet practical solution won him the support of two leading cardiothoracic surgeons
堅定的決心加上獨創而務實的解決方案，為他贏得了兩位頂尖心胸外科醫師的支持，
and helped him raise the money to develop his idea.
幫助籌集資金來拓展他的想法。
In May 2004, at the age of 47, he became the guinea pig for his own invention, the ExoVasc Personalised External Aortic Root Support (PEARS).
2004年5月，47歲的他成為了他自己發明物的實驗對象，這項發明是血管外個性化體外主動脈根部支撐（PEARS）。
The operation was a success.
手術很成功。
It has since been used by surgeons in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, Czech Republic, New Zealand, Australia, and the Netherlands.
此后，英國、愛爾蘭、比利時、捷克共和國、新西蘭、澳大利亞和荷蘭的外科醫生都在使用這種方法。
"When you're as motivated as I was," Golesworthy told mosaic.com, "you make things happen."
“當你像我一樣受到驅動時，就會讓促使事情發生。”戈爾斯沃西接受mosaic.com網站采訪時說道。
