Application advantages and prospect of three-dimensional printing technology in the diagnosis and treatment of posterior column fracture of tibial plateau.

BACKGROUND: Application of three-dimensional printing technology provides an effective supplementary means for minimally invasive and individualized surgery of posterior column fracture of tibial plateau. OBJECTIVE: To summarize the present situation of diagnosis and treatment of posterior column fracture of tibial plateau, and to look forward to the effect of three-dimensional printing technology in the diagnosis and treatment of posterior column fracture of tibial plateau. METHODS: A computer-based retrieval of CNKI, WanFang, and PubMed databases was conducted using the keywords of 'the fracture of tibial plateau, posterior column, 3D printing technology" in Chinese and English, respectively. Totally 210 articles were retrieved, and 56 eligible articles were finally included for review based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. The detailed contents included classification of posterior column fracture of tibial plateau, surgical treatment, application status of three-dimensional printing technology and postoperative rehabilitation. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Posterior column fracture of tibial plateau is a special type of plateau fracture, so the traditional method may lead to misdiagnosis. However, the solid model based on three-dimensional printing can directly make diagnosis, and analyze the injury mechanism and classification. In the treatment of posterior column fracture of tibial plateau, there are various traditional surgical approaches to choose: the posterior approach (postmedial approach, posterolateral approach), backward medial inverted 'L' into the approach, anterolateral/anterolateral approach, anterolateral posterolateral combined approach, arthroscopy minimally invasive treatment and so on, but have not been unified yet. The application of three-dimensional printing technology has further improved the diagnosis and classification of posterior column fracture of tibial plateau, and provides a reference for preoperative guidance of personalized surgical plan, surgical approach selection, estimation of intraoperative bone implant volume and postoperative rehabilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]