3-Dimensional Printed Models May Be a Useful Tool When Planning Revision Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

Abstract

The authors report the following potential conflicts of interest or sources of funding: Funding for this project was provided by the UPMC Department of Orthopedic Surgery Chairman's fund. A.G. reports nonfinancial support from Axial3D. V.M. reports other from Smith & Nephew. Full ICMJE author disclosure forms are available for this article online, as supplementary material.

Transepicondylar distance measured on MRI can predict the length of the graft required for different anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) techniques useful for revision surgery

“…The authors found that a high-resolution 3D turbo spin echo proton density MRI sequence could quantitatively evaluate the location and orientation of previous bone tunnels for routine postoperative assessment, presurgical planning, and outcome evaluation [37]. With the same goal of improving preoperative planning in ACLR revision surgery, Kitamura et al found that 3D printed models of the knee were a useful addition to CT scans for sports medicine orthopedic fellows during the planning of ACLR revision surgery [38]. Most of these studies dealing with preoperative planning of ACLR revision have focused on accurately determining the size, location, and orientation of previous bone tunnels; this is certainly one of the first aspect to consider when approaching ACLR revision surgery, together with ruling out possible comorbidities responsible for ACL failure (i.e., lower limb malalignment, meniscal deficiency, previously overlooked concomitant knee instabilities).…”

Medical 3D Printing Using Desktop Inverted Vat Photopolymerization: Background, Clinical Applications, and Challenges

“…Using the same 3D printer and freeware, a bone prosthesis of the frontal process (zygomatic bone), the zygomatic process (temporal bone), and a portion of the parietal bone were fabricated for craniofacial reconstruction [45]. The femur (right distal) and proximal tibia were segmented, and 3D printed using a Formlabs Form 2 3D printer for planning revision ligament (anterior cruciate) reconstruction [46]. The anatomy comprising the femoral artery, vein, pelvis, and cuboid mold encasing and supporting the structures for ballistic gel soft tissue casting was 3D printed using a Formlabs Form 2 3D printer [47].…”

“…While the addition of 3D printed models did not significantly impact agreement for attending orthopedic physicians, it did lead to a higher agreement rate (76%) for fellow physicians compared to CT images alone (63%) (p = 0.050). Overall, fellow physicians had a higher agreement rate (74%) with the 3D printed models than with CT alone (65%) (p = 0.049) [46]. Clinicians and researchers have found that 3D printed models of coronary artery anomalies developed from CT data are useful in visualizing coronary artery anatomy and their abnormalities and complement viewing 3D CT scans [51].…”

Tunnel Management in Revision Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: Current Concepts

“…These reconstructions have also been used to print 3D models to facilitate planning complex revision cases. 40,57…”

“…These reconstructions have also been used to print 3D models to facilitate planning complex revision cases. 40,57 A simple classification system has been developed and validated using 3D CT images to characterize femoral tunnel position (Table 1). 46 Characterization of tunnel position using this system reveals an alarming number of partially anatomic tunnels, with major implications for revision surgery.…”