Impact of 3D Printing Techniques on Bone Reconstruction: Systematic review and Descriptive Study

Abstract

This article starts by providing a full history on the issue at hand, namely the influence of 3D printing on bone healing, current methods of repairing bone defects, such as autologous grafts, allografts, and synthetic grafts, are insufficient to meet clinical practice demands, bone tissue is complex, containing bioactive compounds, extracellular matrix, and bone cells; successfully regenerating this tissue is difficult, the growing incidence of bone abnormalities caused by osteo-degenerative diseases, cancer, and fractures emphasizes the need of efficient bone regeneration treatments, according to Genova et al, (2020), by analyzing the current obstacles, we can learn more about how 3D printing could change the game for bone repair, one potential application of 3D printing is the creation of scaffolds for bone tissue engineering, which could lead to personalized implants, this is because 3D printing combines computer-aided design with rapid prototyping, allowing for precise manipulation of scaffold materials and pore structure, the technique starts with gathering three-dimensional data from the repair location, then using computer-aided design (CAD) software to segment the model, and lastly discharging materials layer by layer. 3D printing has showed promise in the manufacture of bone tissue scaffolds, which may effectively restore a patient's lesion's original anatomical structure by precisely changing the scaffold's pore size, furthermore, 3D-printed scaffolds including active components such as cells and growth hormones have shown promising outcomes in cartilage and bone regeneration (Zhang et al, 2023), many cell types and signaling molecules restore bone tissue without scarring at fracture sites, large lesions limit healing, trauma, tumor removal, and illness cause non-union bone fractures that orthopedic and reconstructive surgeons struggle to fix, our evaluation begins with synthetic biomaterials and auto-, allo-, and xenograft transplants, our analysis also examines reconstructive therapy's efficacy elements, bone transplant survival and regeneration need vascularization, which current therapies typically lack, free or pedicled fibula flaps, masquelet membranes, or the patient's body as a bioreactor may overcome this issue, last, 3D printing and bioprinting tailored and vascularized scaffolds may help heal bone defects.