Mayo Clinic surgeons are using 3D printing to create personalized titanium implants for spine surgery. This technology allows for a customized fit, as each patient’s spine is unique.
Traditional implants come in standard sizes, but 3D printing enables surgeons to design implants based on a patient’s individual anatomy, using images from a CT scan.
Dr. Joshua Bakhsheshian, a Mayo Clinic neurosurgeon, states that the benefit of these implants is that they are custom fitted for each particular patient. This gives surgeons a little bit more control in terms of alignment restoration and also vertebral endplate coverage, which leads to better patient outcomes down the line.
The process starts with a CT scan, which is used to build a three-dimensional reconstruction of the patient’s spine. From this reconstruction, an implant can be designed to fit the space between the vertebrae.
This personalized approach is part of an evolution in spine surgery toward better tailored treatments. Dr. Bakhsheshian notes that modern-day spine surgery requires a lot of planning beforehand and that the operation is mostly done before the surgeon even gets to the operating room.
For patients undergoing spinal fusion, implants help maintain the space between vertebrae while the bones heal together. Porous titanium also allows bone to grow into and integrate better with the implant.
Dr. Bakhsheshian says customization can also mean less adjustment to the implant during the operation, allowing him to finish the operation quicker. This level of precision can also benefit patients after surgery, as they tend to recover faster and return to their level of activity sooner.