Department: orthopedic – oncology
Patient: female, age: 38Y
Prof. Nardi Caspi
Services: Segmentation, surgery planning, anatomy model, PSI.
In this case the tumor is close to the joint, but the joint itself isn’t infected. Saving the joint was important. To prevent removing the entire joint, Dr. Solomon Dadia worked with us to design a 3D customized printed implant, in an effort to preserve the joint, and thereby allow a better outcome for the patient, from a quality of life perspective.
While planning the surgery, we used Materialise software to create a virtual model and help the physician to precisely identify the cutting surfaces. Given this was a lower limb, the implant had to designed to be weight bearing allowing the patient to stand, walk and carry on with normal daily activities.
Our designers are able to create several structures and shapes to reach the desired result based on the physicians’ requirements and the patient anatomy. In this case, we use a Gyroid 3D pattern to simulate bone surface area which allows us to adjust the structural stiffness of the implant and match it to the stiffness of the bone. We also added Flanches features and tibia nail from Johnson & Johnson all prior to the surgery, based on various factors including bone density and porosity. Sharon Tuvia ltd assisted us in printing this patient-specific implant.