Clinical efficacy of ankle arthrodesis assisted with 3D printing technology in the treatment of advanced traumatic ankle arthritis
ZHANG Zhibin
ZHAO Aijun
WU Qian
Abstract：Objective To investigate clinical efficacy of ankle arthrodesis assisted with 3D printing technology in advanced traumatic ankle arthritis.Methods A total of 88 patients with advanced traumatic ankle arthritis treated between February 2022 and February 2024 were enrolled.According to different treatment methods,they were divided into group A(n=43,traditional ankle fusion)and group B(n=45,traditional ankle fusion assisted with 3D printing technology).Group A was treated with traditional ankle arthrodesis,and group B was treated with traditional ankle arthrodesis assisted with 3D printing technology.The duration of operation,intraoperative blood loss,length of hospital stay,scores of American orthopedic foot and ankle society(AOFAS)and visual analogue scale(VAS)pain score before and after surgery were compared,and postoperative bone fusion rate and incidence of complications were recorded between the two groups.Results The duration of operation and length of hospital stay in group B were shorter than those in group A,and intraoperative blood loss was less than that in group A(P＜0.01).At 1 month,3 months,6 months and 1 year after surgery,AOFAS scores were increased in both groups(P＜0.05),as compared with those before surgery,which were higher in group B than in group A(P＜0.01).At 7 d and 15 d after surgery,VAS scores were decreased in both groups,as compared with those before surgery,which were lower in group B than in group A at 15 d after surgery(P＜0.01).At 6 months after surgery,bone fusion rate in group B was higher than that in group A(P＜0.01),and at 1 year after surgery,there was no significant difference in bone fusion rate between the two groups(P＞0.05).The total incidence of postoperative complications in group B was lower than that in group A[4.44％(2/44)vs.18.60％(8/43),P＜0.05].Conclusion Ankle arthrodesis assisted with 3D printing technology can shorten the duration of operation,promote postoperative ankle rehabilitation,increase bone fusion rate,relieve postoperative pain and reduce the incidence of complications.
Keywords：advanced traumatic ankle arthritisankle arthrodesis3D printingscrew internal fixationscore of American orthopedic foot and ankle societypainbone fusionpostoperative complication
Publication Date：2026-02-28
Online Publishing Date：2026-03-17(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：5( 33-37 )