A modified rotating isosceles triangle osteotomy using a 3D-printed patient-specific guide for the treatment of cubitus varus in children: a case report and literature review

After corrective osteotomy of cubitus varus, the lateral condylar prominence is a common problem, which is believed to be due to the unequal relative cuts of the lateral base wedge osteotomy. Therefore, several related solutions have been proposed, such as dome osteotomy and step-cut osteotomies, which solve the above problems to a certain extent. This study aimed to: (I) use a modified corpectomy to correct the deformity, and (II) present a new corpectomy method that uses a 3D-printed specific guide with an isosceles triangle osteotomy. A 12-year-old male presented with a –30-degree cubitus varus deformity 5 years after a supracondylar fracture of the right humerus. The degree of correction was determined from the varus angle and the normal carrying angle on the normal side. A rotating isosceles triangle osteotomy was determined by using Mimics software. The accuracy of the osteotomy angle was confirmed by postoperative radiography. The mean postoperative carrying angle was found to be preserved at the 10-month follow-up, with no complications. A rotating isosceles triangle osteotomy with a 3D-printed patient-specific guide may be providing a relative accurate result. However, in order to obtain more rigorous research conclusions, more cases should be added to examine this methodology for bone deformity surgery in the near future.