To evaluate the short-term efficacy of 3D-printed customized prostheses in limb-salvage surgery for pediatric distal femoral osteosarcoma.

A single-center retrospective study was conducted on the outcomes of 19 eligible children at the Affiliated Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from May 2021 to February 2025. Among them, 9 cases were in the epiphysis-preserving group and received 3D-printed personalized epiphysis-preserving prosthesis implantation; 10 cases were in the hinge group and underwent 3D-printed individual hinge prosthesis implantation. Their basic clinical data, perioperative data, and follow-up information were collected and analyzed.

All the 19 subjected patients completed the surgeries as preoperatively planned. The knee joint function of the children recovered well after surgery. In the epiphysis-preserving group, there were 8 males and 1 female, at an average age of 11.05±2.75 years. During a follow-up time of 21.67±15.87 months, 8 cases obtained disease-free survival, with a mean Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) score of 27.56±1.33, and the left 1 case deceased. The hinge group included 4 males and 6 females, at an age of 10.12±2.30 years, and they were followed up for 22.30±11.23 months. For the 7 cases with disease-free survival, their MSTS score was 25.30±2.21, and the other 3 cases dead.

In the limb salvage treatment of children with osteosarcoma in the distal femur, 3D-printed personalized prosthesis implantation achieves satisfactory short-term outcome.