Last week, Dr. Jason Tartaglione performed a one-of-a-kind surgery that was also the first of its kind in Rhode Island, using a custom 3D-printed implant to treat a patient’s foot condition. In pioneering this new procedure, Dr. Tartaglione worked with Restor3D, a company that specializes in using 3D printing to create patient-specific custom orthopedic implants.
Dr. Tartaglione’s patient, an active man in his sixties, came to Ortho Rhode Island with a history of multiple foot and ankle surgeries at another facility, with significant bone loss of his talus and navicular bones. Treatment options were limited, and included amputation and limb salvage. Because the patient wanted to remain active as active as possible, he decided to move forward with a limb salvage procedure.
That’s where Dr. Tartaglione’s innovative collaboration with Restor3D came in. For limb salvage, traditional treatments would have required the use of cadaver bone, or an iliac crest autograft – a bone graft from the patient’s hip – which in this case would be large, and associated with high morbidity. As an alternative to these procedures, Dr. Tartaglione worked closely with Restor3D to design a custom molded, patient-specific, 3D-printed implant to replace a portion of the patient’s talus as well as his entire navicular.
The groundbreaking surgery went well, and while the patient’s outcomes will be fully determined over time, Dr. Tartaglione’s work using the Restor3D implant has already ushered in an era of new, innovative options for patients in need of orthopedic implants.
Learn more about Dr. Tartaglione, and visit our foot and ankle specialty page to learn more about Ortho Rhode Island’s state-of-the-art care.
