Long-Term Survival of a Custom 3D-Printed Implant in a Patient with a Massive Acetabular Defect: A 10-Year Follow-Up—From Mistakes to Useful Experience

Background: Personalized medicine is a new milestone in surgical disciplines. Orthopedic surgery is no exception. Opportunities and solutions to previously unsolvable problems have become possible thanks to the advent of customized implants. Therefore, it is incredibly important to accumulate and share long-term experience in using these implants, without fear of revealing and admitting mistakes or pointing out ways to prevent and solve them. Clinical case: The presented clinical case demonstrated stable implant fixation for 10 years. This clinical case describes the stages of developing an understanding of the use and effectiveness of 3D-printed implants in orthopedic surgery. Key errors and inaccuracies in the management of the patient that led to complications were analyzed, and solutions were proposed and successfully implemented. Conclusions: Custom 3D-printed implants are an effective and promising method for reconstructing massive acetabular defects. The authors believe that their experience will serve as a good example for orthopedic surgeons in choosing the right solutions for the management of patients with massive bone defects.