Smith & Nephew Launches LEGION Knee

As of now, surgeons in the U.S. and Canada can take advantage of the newly launched LEGION HK Hinge Knee implant from Smith & Nephew—a product that has over 15 years of clinical history. As indicated by the company, this is the first hinged knee to be designed using normal knee kinematics, and the implant provides a new option for those patients facing difficult primary or revision knee surgery.

“This signals a real change in the hinge knee landscape, ” explains Gaurav Agarwal, DSVP and General Manager for Smith & Nephew’s Advanced Surgical Devices division, in the September 12, 2012 news release. “With this implant, we are not only simplifying the procedure, we are transforming these complex surgeries from salvage operations to true joint-rescue procedures.”

Agarwal told OTW,

Revisions can be extremely challenging surgeries. With the LEGION HK, our design team was asked to create a hinge implant that restores a patient’s anatomical motion and provides joint stability in the face of extreme bone loss and compromised soft tissue. With this achievement, we also delivered a solution that offers the seamlessness and simplicity surgeons have come to expect from the LEGION family.

The LEGION HK Hinge Knee has been designed to closely match the knee’s original anatomy while also restoring more normal function, thanks to next-generation rotating knee technology. The company notes that the design of the implant provides a more natural range of motion while maintaining an average of 96% condylar loading—a design feature shown to remove the stresses from the hinge link for lower wear on the hinge device.

For surgeons, the LEGION HK Hinge Knee offers simplicity and familiarity, says the company. The LEGION HK allows surgeons to seamlessly transition intraoperatively from a constrained revision implant to a hinged assembly, thus using a minimal number of instruments and the same simple, reproducible surgical technique they already know.

“The LEGION HK system is a significant leap forward in treating complex knee revision surgery, ” added Dr. Kris Alden, Director of Joint Replacement at West Suburban Hospital in Chicago, in the news release. “Its kinematic and bone sparing design not only alleviates my patients’ symptoms, but also restores an almost natural knee function. Couple that with its ease of use, and it has greatly aided my practice when treating significant bone and ligamentous deficiencies.”