Preoperative 3D printing planning technology combined with orthopedic surgical robot-assisted minimally invasive screw fixation for the treatment of pelvic fractures: a retrospective study

To explore the advantages and effectiveness of preoperative 3D printing planning technology combined with orthopedic surgical robot-assisted screw placement in the minimally invasive treatment of pelvic fractures compared to orthopedic surgical robot-assisted screw placement alone. A retrospective analysis of the clinical data of 29 patients with unstable pelvic fractures treated with orthopedic surgical robot-assisted percutaneous screw fixation from July 2021 to August 2023 was conducted. Among them, 13 patients who underwent preoperative 3D printing technology for screw planning were assigned to the experimental group, and the remaining 16 patients were assigned to the control group. All patients underwent screw fixation alone or combined with other fixation methods for fracture fixation. The application of preoperative 3D printing planning in orthopedic surgical robot operations was described. The intraoperative screw drawing time, invasive operation time, number of fluoroscopies during invasive operation, postoperative evaluation of screw accuracy, fracture healing, complications, and functional outcomes were recorded and compared between the two groups. All patients successfully underwent surgery, with one patient in the control group experiencing numbness in the sciatic nerve innervation area. All patients were followed up for 4-15 months, with an average of 8 months, and all fractures achieved healing. The experimental group had a total of 26 screws inserted, while the control group had 30 screws. In the experimental group, the intraoperative screw drawing time was 3.0 (3.0, 3.37) min, significantly shorter than 4.0 (3.6, 4.0) min in the control group (