3D TECHNOLOGY APPLIED TO VETERINARY ORTHOPAEDIC SURGERY: ANGULAR DEFORMITY OF LONG BONES IN THE DOG

Three-dimensional (3D) printing technology is getting great applicability in health sciences, both for clinics and education. The advantages of this technology have resulted in an increased use of 3D printing in veterinary medicine.

The individual variances between the dog and the cat anatomy make the use of 3D-printed models ideal for surgical preparation. Having a tangible model of a patient’s anatomy available either for studying or for simulation of a surgery is preferable with respect to the use of Computed Tomography (CT) imaging.

The use of 3D-printed models for surgical training allows avoiding the use of cadavers for this purpose, more considering the existing problems regarding availability and cost of cadavers. Moreover, some pathologies are difficult to simulate on the cadaver. 3D technology is capable of readily producing accurate models based on data adquired by CT imaging as it allows production of multiple copies at any size scaled.

Small animals are susceptible to suffering musculoskeletal system injuries that lead to deformities of long bones, for example, angular deformities of the radius and ulna caused by premature physeal arrest of the radius and/ or ulna, malunion as a result of complication in the treatment of fractures, patellar luxation grade IV involving deformities of the distal femur or the proximal tibia, etc. Surgical preparation is essential since the realization of corrective osteotomies or ostectomies is necessary in order to complete the objective of a complete anatomical recovery of the bone and recover the joint congruency and therefore the joint functionality.

The 3DVetLab project, integrated in the Docentia-UCM 2017 program, presents the 3D technology applied to small animal orthopaedic surgery: corrective ostectomy stabilized with a bilateral (type II) external fixation for treatment of angular deformity of the radius in the dog.
The exercise consisted in the creation of a bone model of a radius printed with PoliLactic Acid (PLA) to simulate a bone deformity due to premature physeal arrest of the ulna in growing animals. The bone model was set on the practice table to do precise planning of the ostectomy cuts in the area of maximum deformity in order to be stabilized with a type II external fixation.

The use of 3D-printed models of angular deformities allowed us to perform the surgical planning to determinate the ostectomy cuts and the accurate angles to correct the bone deformity. Also, it was very useful in the planning of the necessary material needed to both reduce the created fracture and obtain an adequate immobilization.