Overview of In-Hospital 3D Printing and Practical Applications in Hand Surgery

Marco Keller; Alissa Guebeli; Florian Thieringer; Philipp Honigmann

doi:10.1155/2021/4650245

Overview of In-Hospital 3D Printing and Practical Applications in Hand Surgery

Biomed Res Int. 2021 Mar 26:2021:4650245. doi: 10.1155/2021/4650245. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Marco Keller^{1

2}, Alissa Guebeli^{1

2}, Florian Thieringer^{2

3}, Philipp Honigmann^{1

2

4}

Affiliations

¹ Hand Surgery, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology, Kantonsspital Baselland, 4410 Liestal, Switzerland.
² Medical Additive Manufacturing Research Group, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Basel, 4123 Allschwil, Switzerland.
³ Department of Oral and Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
⁴ Department of Biomedical Engineering and Physics, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is spreading in hand surgery. There is an increasing number of practical applications like the training of junior hand surgeons, patient education, preoperative planning, and 3D printing of customized casts, customized surgical guides, implants, and prostheses. Some high-quality studies highlight the value for surgeons, but there is still a lack of high-level evidence for improved clinical endpoints and hence actual impact on the patient's outcome. This article provides an overview over the latest applications of 3D printing in hand surgery and practical experience of implementing them into daily clinical routine.

MeSH terms

Amputation, Surgical
Bone and Bones / surgery
Braces
Female
Hand / diagnostic imaging
Hand / surgery*
Hospitals*
Humans
Middle Aged
Models, Anatomic
Printing, Three-Dimensional*
Splints