{"id":60155,"date":"2024-10-04T16:00:31","date_gmt":"2024-10-04T14:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/?p=60155"},"modified":"2024-10-04T15:52:13","modified_gmt":"2024-10-04T13:52:13","slug":"exactech-performs-the-first-ankle-surgeries-with-3d-printed-tibial-implants-041020245","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/exactech-performs-the-first-ankle-surgeries-with-3d-printed-tibial-implants-041020245\/","title":{"rendered":"Exactech Performs First Ankle Surgeries with 3D Printed Tibial Implants"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In recent years, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/what-is-additive-manufacturing\/\">3D printing<\/a> has taken off in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/medical-and-dental-3d-printing\/\">medical sector<\/a>, bringing innovations in a variety of fields. From the creation of custom-made <a href=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/3d-prostheses-100420184\/\">prostheses<\/a> and orthoses to the personalization of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/3d-printed-drugs-personalized-medicine-140520204\/\">drug treatments<\/a>, this technology is transforming healthcare. Today, we take a look at 3D-printed implants.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">More specifically, a new case comes from international medical technology company Exactech, which recently performed the first ankle replacement operations using Ankle 3D and 3D+ tibial implants, both designed using 3D printing. Indeed, last week, Dr. James Lachman of St. Luke&#8217;s University Health Network conducted one such surgery in Pennsylvania, USA.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_86423\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-86423\" class=\"wp-image-86423 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/implant_3d_printing.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"400\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-86423\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Exactech&#8217;s tibial implants<\/p><\/div>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Innovations in Ankle Surgery Thanks to 3D Printing<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dr. James Lachman MD, of St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network, was the first to perform the ankle procedure last week. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt is exciting to be the first to implant Exactech\u2019s latest ankle products and provide my patients with their differentiating benefits,<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d Dr. Lachman said. <\/span><\/p><div class=\"dnati-inside-article-leaderboard\" style=\"text-align: center;\" id=\"dnati-541235919\"><a data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/app.swapcard.com\/login\/event\/additiv-defense-2026\/ticket\/VGlja2V0VHlwZV83MDM4MQ==\/page\/UmVnaXN0cmF0aW9uRm9ybV81NjE4Ng==\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"a2t-link\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"LB (4)\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/LB-4.gif\" alt=\"\"  width=\"850\" height=\"150\"   \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The implant stands out for its ability to adapt to a wider range of pathologies while making surgical instruments simpler to use. The company&#8217;s Vantage Ankle 3D and 3D+ tibial implants are available with stem heights ranging from 10 to 30 mm. Thanks to 3D printing technology, they offer unique features, including a surface designed to reproduce the natural structure of bone.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the help of these implants, Dr. Jim Nunley and Exactech Design Team Surgeon Mark Easley, MD performed two total ankle arthroplasties at Duke Regional Hospital. This surgical procedure aims to restore joint mobility by establishing a new joint space. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After several years of developing the 3D+ tibial component with the outstanding Exactech engineers and other design team surgeons, James Lachman and I are pleased how the new tibial components and instrumentation seamlessly melded with the existing talar component options,\u201d <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Easly <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">said. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe additive manufacturing, and the press-fit pegs and augmented central cage afford satisfying initial tibial component stability.\u201d<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Although manufacturing techniques have not yet been disclosed, these implants offer surgeons optimized solutions for patient treatment.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Exactech&#8217;s Recent Developments in Foot and Ankle Care<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These new products join a wide range of new launches by Exactech. Earlier this year, the company launched Activit-E, a polyethylene insert enriched with vitamin E. Finally, in collaboration with 3D Systems, Exactech has developed customized cutting guides compatible with its new implants. To learn more about Exatech&#8217;s work, read their press release <a href=\"https:\/\/www.exac.com\/exactech-announces-first-total-ankle-surgeries-with-new-3d-printed-tibial-implants\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What do you think of Exactech&#8217;s 3D-printed implants?\u00a0Let us know in a comment below or on our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/3Dnatives\/\">Facebook<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/3Dnatives_en\/\">Twitter<\/a> pages! Don\u2019t forget to sign up for our free weekly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/3d-printing-newsletter\/\">Newsletter<\/a>, with all the latest news in 3D printing delivered straight to your inbox!<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>*All Photo Credits: Exactech<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"dnati-after-content\" id=\"dnati-2116125531\"><a data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/amcoe.org\/event\/design-for-additive-manufacturing-design-at-elevation\/\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"a2t-link\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"DfAM course-850&#215;150\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/DfAM-course-850x150-1.jpg\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/DfAM-course-850x150-1.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/DfAM-course-850x150-1-600x106.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/DfAM-course-850x150-1-768x136.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/DfAM-course-850x150-1-160x28.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" width=\"850\" height=\"150\"   \/><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In recent years, 3D printing has taken off in the medical sector, bringing innovations in a variety of fields. From the creation of custom-made prostheses and orthoses to the personalization of drug treatments, this technology is transforming healthcare. Today, we&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6114,"featured_media":60156,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-medical","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6114"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60155"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60210,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60155\/revisions\/60210"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.3dnatives.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}