LRS, together with Prof. Maritz Laubscher & Dr. Thomas Hilton (Department of Orthopaedics, Groote Schuur Hospital, Life Vincent Pallotti), designed a custom Ti6Al4V truss cage to bridge a metaphyseal femoral defect. The operation was performed at Life Vincent Pallotti, Cape Town, which included both the diaphyseal cage implant & hip replacement being done simultaneously.This required careful surgical planning to ensure a sufficient gap between the hip stem and the femoral nail.
The patient’s CT data was used for the design, and the implant was then 3D printed in Ti6Al4V. The cage was designed to accommodate an intramedullary nail for fixation and compression, with a rough surface finish on the trusses to encourage osseointegration. Bone graft harvested from the patient's femoral canal was used to fill the cage.
LRS continues to see promising results in TiTruss cages as a treatment option for cases of segmental bone loss, or for joint fusions. Displayed x-rays show the implant one year post-op.
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