Smith & Nephew has announced the U.S. launch of its POLARSTEM cementless stem for total hip replacement (THA). The POLARSTEM, which has been available outside the U.S. since 2002, offers several design features that assist with muscle sparing approaches for surgeons who use the direct anterior approach for THA.
Smith & Nephew’s POLARSTEM Launches in U.S.
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For example, the proximal portion of the stem is wider to help reduce the possibility of movement downward into the bone. Whereas the distal portion of the stem is shorter and features a narrower tip, making it easier to implant through the smaller incision used in the direct anterior approach. Lastly, the stem features an advanced surface texture of titanium plasma and a hydroxyapatite layer.
“The POLARSTEM implant has advantages over similar style stems that are currently on the market. The wider proximal fit and fill, as well as the reduced distal body of the stem has allowed a better patient fit for my patients with little to no limitations in regards to bone type or femoral morphologies, ” said Dr. Jason Lang, associate professor of orthopedic surgery at Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in the February 19, 2014 news release.
“Simply based on its excellent mid-term follow up data of 99.5% survivorship at 5.6 years and the design advantages it offers for minimally invasive and direct anterior surgeons, the POLARSTEM implant stands apart from other hip stems, ” said Gaurav Agarwal, president of Orthopaedic Reconstruction for Smith & Nephew’s Advanced Surgical Devices Division. “However, when you add the wear-reducing advantages of our proprietary VERILAST Technology, the final construct truly becomes an optimal hip replacement option.”
VERILAST Technology is an advanced low-friction bearing couple combining OXINIUM Oxidized Zirconium, a patented ceramicised metal alloy for the femoral head, and a cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) cup liner for the acetabulum. During rigorous lab testing, VERILAST Technology demonstrated 67% less wear than the combination of cobalt chrome and XLPE.
Gaurav Agarwal told OTW, “This launch is a direct response to the increasing demand we’ve received from U.S. surgeons for a fully hydroxyapatite coated stem that could be used with our other primary hip technologies. With the POLARSTEM System, we had the opportunity to introduce to the U.S. a fully hydroxyapatite coated stem with both a successful, 12-year clinical history overseas and design advantages over similar competitive stems, making it a truly global brand.”
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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