3D-Printed Customized Porous Titanium Implants for Complex Craniofacial Bone Defect Repair

Craniofacial bone defects caused by trauma, tumor resection and congenital malformations often lead to facial deformities and functional disorders, which seriously affect patients’ physical and mental health. Traditional craniofacial repair materials such as stainless steel and solid titanium alloy have obvious limitations, including poor matching with personalized bone defects, low osseointegration ability, and long-term foreign body sensation after implantation. With the maturity of 3D printing medical device manufacturing technology, personalized customized implantable devices have been widely used in orthopedic and craniofacial surgery. This research adopts selective laser melting 3D printing technology to prepare porous titanium alloy implants with gradient pore structure, which perfectly matches the anatomical structure of patients’ craniofacial bone through preoperative CT data reconstruction and digital modeling. The gradient porous design simulates the mechanical properties of natural human bone, effectively solving the stress shielding problem of traditional solid implants, and creates a favorable microenvironment for bone cell adhesion, proliferation and ingrowth. In vitro biomechanical tests and 12-month clinical follow-up results prove that the customized porous titanium implant has excellent biocompatibility and osseointegration performance, with no implant loosening, fracture or inflammatory reaction occurred. Compared with conventional standardized implants, the 3D printed personalized device achieves higher facial symmetry and better functional recovery, greatly improving the clinical repair effect of complex craniofacial bone defects. This study verifies the clinical application value of personalized 3D printed medical implants, and provides a reliable technical path for the precise and individualized treatment of bone defect diseases.