Office 3D-printing in paediatric orthopaedics: the orthopaedic surgeon’s guide

BACKGROUND: 3D-printing, or additive manufacturing has become increasingly popular across scientific and engineering fields. The same trend has been observed in the medical field, with the main users being the dentists and the neurosurgeons. Within orthopaedic surgery, usage has been limited by accessibility and costs. The benefits of a 3D printed model in surgical planning and education in orthopaedic surgery is obvious, especially in fields like deformity correction and fracture fixation. METHODS: An in-house 3D-printing facility was set up, with workflow processes defined. We utilised the described workflow to 3D-print models for four paediatric orthopaedic patients with differing pathologies. RESULTS: These case examples show how 3D-printing of surgical models was easily performed, and they are useful in various clinical scenarios within paediatric orthopaedics. The steps involved in the process are accurately detailed, and are reproducible by any orthopaedic surgeon. The benefits of the application of 3D models in the deformity assessment and surgical planning of these cases are discussed individually. CONCLUSIONS: An in-house 3D-printing facility is useful in paediatric orthopaedics due to the variety of complex pathologies and anatomy. We have shown that it is easy to set up with a defined work process. We advocate the application of this emerging technology into every orthopaedic practice.