Visualized simulative surgery in preoperative planning for proximal femoral varus osteotomy of DDH

PURPOSE: To assess the preoperative planning of visualized simulative surgery (VSS) and clinical outcomes based on computer-aided design (CAD) and 3D reconstruction for proximal femoral varus osteotomy of DDH. METHODS: A total of 31 consecutive patients (23 females and 8 males) with DDH who underwent proximal femoral varus osteotomy were retrospectively reviewed between June 2014 and July 2018. Patients were divided into conventional group (n = 15) and VSS group (n = 16) according to different surgical methods. In VSS group, 16 consecutive patients who underwent proximal femoral varus osteotomy were evaluated preoperatively with the aid of VSS. The VSS steps included morphological evaluation of DDH, simulated reconstruction of proximal femoral varus osteotomy, and the implantation of locking compression pediatric hip plate (LCP-PHP). Meanwhile, the osteotomy degrees, surgery time, and radiation exposure were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The average follow-up time was 33.5 months (range, 24 to 46 months). The varus angle for proximal femoral varus osteotomy was 24.2 ± 1.1° in VSS group and 25.1 ± 1.0° in conventional group (P = 0.4974). The surgery time was 31.0 ± 4.5 mins in VSS group and 48.2 ± 7.3 mins in conventional group, while radiography was 5.0 ± 1.5 times in VSS group and 8.3 ± 2.4 times in conventional group. There was a statistical significance in surgery time and radiography (P < 0.0001) when compared with the conventional group. CONCLUSION: The VSS can greatly decrease surgery time and radiation exposure for proximal femoral varus osteotomy, which could also be a tool to train young doctors to improve surgical skills and academic communication. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12891-022-05219-7.