First exploration of three-dimensional-printed guide plate in balloon tibioplasty: A case report

To overcome the drawbacks of traditional balloon tibioplasty (BT), this study designed a complete scheme for applying 3-dimensional (3D)-printed guide plate to BT, and preliminarily verified the feasibility. The authors report a patient with tibial plateau fracture. 3D models were constructed using CT data of patient. Guided K-wires and reduction fragments were generated using the Mimics/Geomagic software. A 3D model of the quasi-platform part was subsequently generated using the outer platform surface profile. Extension arms and Kirschner pinholes were generated by sketching, wrapping, shearing, and performing Boolean and other operations. The guide plate was created using 3D printing and surgically verified. The verification results showed that the quasi-platform part was placed smoothly, fitted the physiological curvature of the articular surface, and maintained stable reduction, demonstrating the feasibility of the guide plate. Compared with traditional BT, 3D-printed guide plate-assisted BT has the theoretical advantages of accurate reduction, prevention of bone cement leakage, short operation time, and low surgical difficulty, thus providing a new method for the treatment of Schatzker type II/III tibial plateau fractures.