Introduction:

since 2017 we have developed a 3D printing program in the Orthopedic Surgery and Traumatology Unit of the Central Hospital of Defense «Gómez Ulla». The objective of this work is to present the preliminary results obtained and the difficulties encountered in the use of 3D printing technology applied to military surgery.

Material and methods:

impressions of surgical instruments usually used in orthopedic surgery were made, recording the model of the printer used, the time required for printing it, the material used, as well as the quality of the product obtained. Subsequently, the instruments were tested and their resistance was recorded.

Results:

twenty-seven surgical instrument devices were created by additive manufacture using Polylactic Acid (PLA) and Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) with two 3D printer models. The unit price of the devices printed in PLA did not exceed 2 euros, while that of those printed in ABS was 3 euros. Average print times were similar on both 3D printer models. Failures were recorded in four devices printed in PLA, while the models printed in ABS did not present failures and obtained better scores in the aspects surveyed.

Conclusions:

using 3D printing, models of surgical instruments similar to those we use in surgical steel were obtained. The production of these models is relatively fast, being these more resistant and reliable when using ABS as a printing material. More studies are necessary in this research line to define the limits of 3D printing applied to military surgery.