3D printing utility for surgical treatment of acetabular fractures

Preoperative 3D modelling enables more effective diagnosis and simulates the surgical procedure.

We report twenty cases of acetabular fractures with preoperative planning performed by pre-contouring synthesis plates on a 3D printed mould obtained from a computarized tomography (CT) scan. The mould impression was made with the DaVinci 1.0 printer model (XYZ Printing). After obtaining the printed hemipelvis, we proceeded to select the implant size (pelvic Matta system, Stryker^®) that matched the characteristics of the fracture and the approach to be used.

Printing the moulds took a mean of 385minutes (322-539), and 238grams of plastic were used to print the model (180-410). In all cases, anatomic reduction was obtained and intra-operative changes were not required in the initial contouring of the plates. The time needed to perform the full osteosynthesis, once the fracture had been reduced was 16.9minutes (10-24). In one case fixed with two plates, a postoperative CT scan showed partial contact of the implant with the surface of the quadrilateral plate. In the remaining cases, the contact was complete.

In conclusion, our results suggest that the use of preoperative planning, by printing 3D mirror imaging models of the opposite hemipelvis and pre-contouring plates over the mould, might effectively achieve a predefined surgical objective and reduce the inherent risks in these difficult procedures.