Use of the 3D Printer before Surgery, Does it Really Help?

Introduction: Three-dimensional printing of the bone models has become increasingly popular recently. Various printing types with the use of different materials became available recently. The purpose of the current study is a review of all cases in which we used printed bone models based on computer tomography ( CT) images.

Materials: Eight patients with different problems were the objects of this study. Three children had hip problems: two had hip dislocation after hip replacement due to femoral sarcoma resection, one had hip dysplasia after traumatic growth arrest of the triradiate cartilage; three patients had post-traumatic elbow deformities; and two patients had foot deformities secondary to neglected clubfoot. There were five females and three males with a mean age of 13.6 (range, 8-36) years. All underwent CT of the affected limb before printing of the bone model.

Results: Preoperative planning was changed intraoperatively in the two first patients with hip dislocations. Preoperative planning was not changed in any of the other patients and was executed exactly as planned before surgery.

Conclusion: 3d planning offers the surgeon a valuable additional view when facing challenging and complex problems. We believe that, with the decrease of the cost of printing, this tool will become an essential part of preoperative planning in every complex case.