Patient-specific 3D-printed titanium implant for distal tibial critical bone defect

Aim: Post-traumatic large critical bone defects remain a challenge for today's orthopedist. Despite multiple available options for treatment including autograft, massive allograft and various methods of bone transport, no strategy has shown itself to be free of significant complications or discouraging rates of nonunion and other mechanisms of failure. Case presentation: Here, we present a patient example of successful treatment of critical bone defect of the distal tibia utilizing the novel technology of a 3D-printed titanium cage coupled with a combination of autologous and allogenic bone graft in a 26-year-old male injured in motor vehicle collision. Conclusion: This case provides further evidence of a successful and promising new treatment to address these challenging injuries. Plain language summary Patients present to orthopedic surgeons with a wide variety of injuries. Some of the most challenging injuries are those which have a large amount of bone loss. Currently, orthopedic surgeons have several options of how to address these injuries which include taking bone from another location in the patient's body, using bone from a donor or by several techniques of guided bone growth. Each of these strategies has its own complications including length of treatment, infection risk, risk of fracture, non-healing wounds or bone that does not fully integrate or heal. Here, we present the case of a patient where we use a new technique of 3D printing a metal cage filled with bone graft with excellent results.

Duke Scholars

Author Samuel Bruce Adams Jr. Orthopaedic Surgery