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International Journal of Bioprinting Efficacy of 3D-printed customized titanium implants

titanium cages, which were successfully applied in total hip implants prepared by 3D printing technology have achieved
arthroplasty (THA) revision surgery. In Case 2 of this study, satisfactory outcome in the foot and ankle surgeries.
since the patient refused to take autologous bone again,
allogeneic bone grafting was applied with customized cages Acknowledgments
for higher support strength. The results suggested that the
strategy was feasible and the patient was satisfied with this None.
treatment. Critical-sized defects following foot and ankle
surgery are always considered a big challenge to surgeons. Funding
The use of custom 3D-printed titanium implants in foot This work was supported by the State Key Research
and ankle surgery achieve good clinical efficacy critical- and Development Program of the Ministry of Science
sized defects. 49 and Technology of the People’s Republic of China (No.
2016YFB1101400), We would like to thank Xin Chen from
4.4. Prospects the Center for Joint Surgery, Southwest Hospital, Third
The prospect of utilizing 3D-printed metal implants for Military Medical University for the language support for
surgical treatment is very promising. 50,51 Customized this article.
plate is a beneficial supplement to the existing plates.
Its mechanical properties and biosafety are sufficient for Author contributions
clinical application, and the operation time can be reduced
by simplifying the surgical process. The utilization of Conceptualization: Xiaojun Duan, Peng He
customized cages is also an innovative approach compared Investigation: Huiping Tang, Yangjing Lin, Xiaojun Duan,
to the existing treatment for bone defects. However, at Guangyu Yang, Fuyou Wang, Liang Jia, Huaquan Fan,
52
present, the fabrication of customized metal implants by Liu Yang
3D printing technology also has disadvantages, such as Writing – original draft: Huiping Tang, Yangjing Lin
high cost and long preparation period. The application Writing – review & editing: Xiaojun Duan
of 3D-printed customized titanium in orthopedic
surgery has been approved by the China Food and Drug Conflict of interest
Administration (CFDA). Since these new technologies The authors declare no conflict of interests.
are still in their infancy, further research in material
preparation and postprocessing, clinical medicine,
medical education, and policies and regulations are Ethical approval and consent to participate
warranted in order to promote the development of these This study was approved by the medical ethics committee
technologies. (2016-J-001). The research protocol has been registered
on the website of Clinical Trials (www.clinicaltrials.
5. Conclusion gov; number: NCT03185286). Both patients signed the
informed consent form, agreeing to be enrolled in the
Based on the patient’s CT examination data, using MIMICS study and disclose the case information.
software and SIEMENS NX 3D design software, customized
implants can be designed according to the surgeon’s plan, Consent for publication
and titanium implants that meet the requirements of clinical
application can be fabricated by 3D printing methods. Both patients signed the informed consent form, agreeing
The 3D-printed models and implant samples used in the to be enrolled in the study and disclose the case information.
preoperative surgical simulation facilitate the successful
implementation of customized surgery. In foot and ankle Availability of data
surgery, the 3D-printed customized TTC plate does not The raw data required to reproduce these findings are
require intraoperative shaping; it can be used directly to available from the corresponding author on request.
fix the bone tissue and has sufficient mechanical support
strength for the healing of bone tissue. The 3D-printed References
subtalar fusion cage can also provide sufficient mechanical
support in the local bone defect to promote healing of bone 1. Yang K, Wang J, Tang H, Li Y. Additive manufacturing
tissue and avoid collapse of local bone tissue. In the 2-year of in-situ reinforced Ti-35Nb-5Ta-7Zr (TNTZ)
follow-up of these two cases, there was no recurrence of alloy by selective electron beam melting (SEBM).
deformity or local pain, as well as no immunological rejection J Alloys Compounds. 2020;826:154178.
at the surgical site or systemic inflammatory reaction. The doi: 10.1016/j.jallcom.2020.154178

Volume 10 Issue 1 (2024) 455 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijb.0125