It has repeatedly been said that digital surgery planning results in faster surgical procedures that lead to shorter hospital stays and more satisfied patients. But what actually means faster and better? Let’s take a look on scientific reports:
… “There is a better stress distribution on the bone-implant interface surface, which will reduce the uneven bone remodeling that can lead to premature loosening. Additionally, given that the bone-implant interface is customized, about 40% less bone must be removed”. (Harrysson, O. L, et al 2007)
… “Conventional materials based on Ti-6Al-4V, stainless steel or cobalt-chromium alloys demonstrate good mechanical strength, but also some toxicological concerns due to release of toxic elements which may result in inflammatory reactions. Metal alloys based on titanium, zirconium, tantalum and niobium used for custom-made 3D printing implants represent higher biocompatibility with appropriate mechanical properties for avoiding stress-shielding and consecutive implant loosening.” (Ivanov et al 2018)
… “According to American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the acetabular custom-made implants represent a reliable solution for pelvic discontinuity and particular cases of bone loss classified as Paprosky Type IIIA-B or type III–IV system, where the feature of the defect cannot be handled with standard implants. Custom-made acetabular components allowed a stable fixation with 94.0 ± 5.0% survival rate. The estimated rate of re-operations and re-revisions were 19.3 ± 17.3% and 5.2 ± 4.7%, respectively. The incidence of PJI was 4.0 ± 3.9%.” (Chiarlone, F et al 2020)
With digital surgery planning you will get quality results without having to hire expensive experts or spending hours manually planning the surgery using outdated methods like manual drawing on paper or whiteboards
You will be able to use 3D printed anatomical models as references when planning surgery procedures for individual patients before going to the OR. The result is faster surgical procedures that lead to shorter hospital stays and more satisfied patients who recover quickly after treatment ends!
References
Harrysson, O. L., Hosni, Y. A., & Nayfeh, J. F. (2007). Custom-designed orthopedic implants evaluated using finite element analysis of patient-specific computed tomography data: femoral-component case study. BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 8, 91. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2474-8-91
Ivanov, E., del Rio, E., Kapchemnko, I., Nyström, M., & Kotila, J. (2018). Development of Bio-Compatible Beta Ti Alloy Powders for Additive Manufacturing for Application in Patient-Specific Orthopedic Implants. Key Engineering Materials, 770, 9–17. https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/kem.770.9
Chiarlone, F., Zanirato, A., Cavagnaro, L. et al. Acetabular custom-made implants for severe acetabular bone defect in revision total hip arthroplasty: a systematic review of the literature. Arch Orthop Trauma Surg 140, 415–424 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00402-020-03334-5