Background:Sacroiliac (SI) screw fixation is a demanding technique, with a high rate of screw malposition due to the complex pelvic anatomy. TiRobot™ is an orthopedic surgery robot which can be used for SI screw fixation. This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of robot-assisted placement of SI sc

Stable fixation of the fracture. The goal of this study was to assess the use of three-dimensional (3D) printing techniques for surgical management of old pelvic fractures. Methods: First, 16 dried human cadaveric pelvises were used to confirm the anatomical accuracy of the 3D models printed based on radiographic data. Next, nine clinical cases between January 2009 and April 2013 were used to evaluate the surgical reconstruction based on the 3D printed models. The pelvic injuries were all type C, and the average time from injury to reconstruction was 11 weeks (range: 8–17 weeks). The workflow consisted of: (1) Printing patient-specific bone models based on preoperative computed tomography (CT) scans, (2) virtual fracture reduction using the printed 3D anatomic template, (3) virtual fracture fixation using Kirschner wires, and (4) preoperatively measuring the osteotomy and implant position relative to landmarks using the virtually defined deformation. These models aided communication between surgical team members during the procedure. This technique was validated by comparing the preoperative planning to the intraoperative procedure. Results: The accuracy of the 3D printed models was within specification. Production of a model from standard CT DICOM data took 7 hours (range: 6–9 hours). Preoperative planning using the 3D printed models was feasible in all cases. Good correlation was found between the preoperative planning and postoperative follow-up X-ray in all nine cases. The patients were followed for 3–29 months (median: 5 months). The fracture healing time was 9–17 weeks (mean: 10 weeks). No delayed incision healing, wound infection, or nonunions occurred. The results were excellent in two cases, good in five, and poor in two based on the Majeed score. Conclusions: The 3D printing planning technique for pelvic surgery was successfully integrated into a clinical workflow to improve patient-specific preoperative planning by providing a visual and haptic model of the injury and allowing patient-specific adaptation of each osteosynthesis implant to the virtually reduced pelvis....

Objective: To evaluate the bi‐planar robot navigation system for insertion of cannulated screws in femoral neck fractures.Method: Between January 2016 and December 2016, 60 patients with femoral neck fractures were separately treated using percutaneous cannulated screws assisted by the bi‐planar robot navigation system (robot group) and conventional freehand surgery (freehand group). The fluoroscopy time, the number of drilling attempts, and the operation time were recorded during operations; the dispersion and parallelism of the cannulated screws on the posteroanterior and lateral images were measured after operations. Patients were followed up for 12–24 months and the Harris scores and the final results of the two groups were compared.Results: During bi‐planar robot navigation system‐assisted surgery, the fluoroscopy time for acquisition of images was 2.3 seconds on average, and the time for planning screws during the operation was 2.8 min on average. The average fluoroscopy time during the placement of the guide pin was 5.7 seconds and 14.14 seconds (P = 0.00), respectively. The average time of the placement of the cannulated screws was 12.7 min and 19.4 min (P = 0.00), respectively, in the robot group and the freehand group. In the robot group, only one guide pin was replaced during the operation, and the average number of adjustments for each guide pin was 2.39 in the freehand group. The screw parallelism and dispersion measured by postoperative imaging in the robot group were significantly superior to those in the freehand group. From postoperative CT it was evident that there were 5 cases of screws exiting the posterior cortex in both groups. During the follow‐up phase, 1 case of femoral head necrosis and 5 cases of femoral neck shortening of more than 10 mm occurred in the robotic navigation group; 3 cases of femoral head necrosis, 1 case of fracture nonunion, and 2 cases of shortening of more than 10 mm occurred in the freehand group. At 18 months after surgery, the average Harris scores of the patients were 85.20 and 83.45, respectively, with no significant difference.Conclusion: Using bi‐planar robot navigation system‐assisted placement of femoral neck cannulated screws can significantly reduce the time of intraoperative fluoroscopy, drilling attempts, and operation time. The placed screws are superior to the screws placed freehand in relation to parallelism and dispersion. However, it is still necessary for surgeons to have a good reduction of the femoral neck fracture before surgery and to be proficient in the operation of the robot navigation system. In summary, the bi‐planar robot navigation system is an effective assistant instrument for surgery.

Background: The objective of this study was to compare the clinical outcomes of robot-assisted retrograde elastic intramedullary nailing and open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) with a plate for displaced midshaft clavicular fractures. Methods: All patients diagnosed with displaced midshaft clavicular fractures between November 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023, in our level-III hospital (most advanced level) were enrolled in this retrospective study; a total of 116 patients met the inclusion criteria. Patients were divided into 2 groups on the basis of treatment: robot-assisted retrograde elastic intramedullary nailing (RAN group) and ORIF with a plate (plate group). Operations in the RAN group were carried out using the novel TIANJI Robot system (TINAVI Medical Technologies) for navigation and planning of the optimal retrograde intramedullary nailing trajectory. Patient demographics, perioperative parameters, and complications were documented. Patients were followed at the trauma clinic for clinical and radiographic assessment. Results: There were 74 patients in the RAN group and 42 patients in the plate group. The RAN group exhibited a significantly shorter total operative time (mean, 52.20 ± 20.76 versus 86.83 ± 27.42 minutes), less blood loss (mean, 7.38 ± 5.54 versus 59.05 ± 30.11 mL), shorter incision length (mean, 1.28 ± 0.85 versus 9.79 ± 1.63 cm), and shorter duration of hospital stay (mean, 3.38 ± 0.73 versus 5.50 ± 1.99 days) (all p < 0.05). Nail treatment was also associated with a significantly shorter time to bone union (mean, 7.92 ± 2.46 versus 16.79 ± 5.18 weeks), a higher SCAR score (mean, 9.77 ± 0.51 versus 5.74 ± 1.15), a shorter time to return to sports (mean, 12.70 ± 2.35 versus 20.10 ± 4.10 weeks), and a shorter time to regain full range of shoulder motion (mean, 9.46 ± 2.35 versus 12.05 ± 2.95 weeks) (all p < 0.05). At the final follow-up, the Constant-Murley shoulder score was significantly higher in the RAN group (mean, 97.57 ± 2.77 versus 93.29 ± 7.63) (p < 0.05). Compared with the RAN group, the plate group had more complications (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Robot-assisted retrograde elastic intramedullary nailing is a safe and minimally invasive treatment option for displaced midshaft clavicular fractures that promotes rapid healing, good cosmesis, excellent functional outcomes, and fewer complications compared with ORIF with a plate. Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.