Technical Trick

Advances in the Preoperative Planning of Revision Trauma Surgery Using 3D Printing Technology

Horas, Konstantin MD^*; Hoffmann, Reinhard MD^*; Faulenbach, Miriam MD^*; Heinz, Simon M. MD^*; Langheinrich, Alexander MD^†; Schweigkofler, Uwe MD^*

Author Information

Departments of ^*Trauma Surgery, and

^†Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, BG Trauma Hospital, Frankfurt, Germany.

Reprints: Konstantin Horas, MD, Department of Trauma Surgery, BG Trauma Hospital, Frankfurt am Main 60389, Germany (e-mail: [email protected]).

The authors report no conflict of interest.

Supplemental digital content is available for this article. Direct URL citations appear in the printed text and are provided in the HTML and PDF versions of this article on the journal's Web site (www.jorthotrauma.com).

Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma 34(5):p e181-e186, May 2020. | DOI: 10.1097/BOT.0000000000001708

Abstract

Summary:

The management of complex fractures at the time of revision surgery remains one of the most challenging tasks for orthopaedic trauma surgeons. As the major principle of treatment remains to achieve an anatomic reduction and a stable fixation, precise preoperative diagnostics and treatment planning are of utmost importance. Thus, knowledge of the 3-dimensional anatomy of the fracture site and its surrounding tissue is indispensable. However, radiographic tools have thus far mostly been unable to recapitulate the complexity of the fracture site in toto. In recent years, the development of 3-dimensional (3D) printers has led to novel opportunities in preoperative planning of complex operative procedures. Although the application of 3D printers has become increasingly popular in orthopaedic surgery, its implementation in trauma surgery is so far mostly limited to the preoperative planning of surgery in patients with pelvic and acetabular fractures/defects. Moreover, reports describing the advantages using this sophisticated methodology in revision trauma surgery are sparse. In this article, we report our experience using novel 3D printing technologies for the management of revision surgery in orthopaedic trauma. In particular, we describe the benefit of using 3D printing technologies in the preoperative planning of complex revision surgery of the proximal tibia, the elbow joint, the distal femur, the ankle joint, and several others. With the advantage to preoperatively plan the optimal surgical approach, implant placement, and contouring as well as the possibility to anticipate intraoperative difficulties, we believe that this emerging technology is of significant value for revision surgery in orthopaedic trauma.