Efficacy of 3D printing-assisted treatment for acetabular fractures

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of three-dimensional (3D) printing-assisted treatment for acetabular fractures (AFs) and to compare with conventional surgical methods.

Patients and methods: Between May 2019 and May 2022, a total of 44 patients (33 males, 11 females; mean age: 40.6±11.8 years; range, 20 to 68 years) who were diagnosed with AFs based on clinical symptoms, X-ray and computed tomography (CT) and underwent open reduction and internal fixation in Hospital of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into two groups based on whether 3D printing was applied as the experimental group (n=24) and control group (n=20). In the experimental group, pelvic and acetabular data were imported into a 3D printer, and an equal-scale highly simulated model was printed using photosensitive resin as the 3D printing material. The model was used to develop more specific personalized surgical plans, to determine the optimal sequence of surgical procedures for fracture reduction, and simulate surgery in vitro.

Results: In the experimental group, the mean surgical duration was shorter (123.57±22.05 vs. 163.57±26.20 min, p<0.001), the mean intraoperative bleeding loss was lower (557.14±174.15 vs. 885.71±203.27 mL, p<0.001), and the frequency of intraoperative fluoroscopy was lower (8.64±1.65 vs. 12.07±2.76, p<0.001) than in the control group. No statistically significant differences were found between the two groups in the Visual Analog Scale scores after surgery or the hip function score after treatment (p>0.05). No major postoperative complications were observed in any of the patients.

Conclusion: Compared to conventional surgical treatment, preoperative 3D printing-assisted treatment for adult patients with AFs can significantly reduce surgical duration, intraoperative bleeding loss and frequency of intraoperative C-arm fluoroscopy, reducing surgical difficulty and improving surgical safety.

Citation: Si C, Bai B, Cong W, Zhang L, Guan R. Efficacy of 3D printing-assisted treatment for acetabular fractures. Jt Dis Relat Surg 2024;35(3):521-528. doi: 10.52312/jdrs.2024.1756.

The study protocol was approved by the Hospital of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Ethics Committee (date: 09.09.2022, no: 202206201). The study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.

A written informed consent was obtained from each patient.

Conceived of the study: S.C.M., G.R.S.; Participated in its design and data analysis and statistics: B.B.L., C.W., Z.L.P. All authors helped to draft the manuscript, read and approved the final manuscript

The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps’ Science and Technology Research Plan in Key Areas (2022AB029).

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.