Zimmer Spine, Inc. has launched a modular, stand-alone cervical device that, the company says offers secure fixation with no profile.
Zimmer Spine Launches No-Profile Cervical Device
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The company is launching the Optio C Anterior Cervical System at the American Association for Neurological Surgeons (AANS) meeting being held April 5-9 in San Francisco. Steve Healy, the company’s president said, “With plate strength equivalent to a traditional cervical plate, stability through a three-screw fixation design, and fusion delivered by a spacer featuring a load-sharing interface, the Optio-C System takes cervical stand-alone devices to the next level, ”
Optio-C Anterior Cervical System
The no profile System is comprised of one PEEK IBF Spacer, one Anterior Cervical Plate, and three bone screws. The device is secured by an anti-migration system that is designed to maintain no profile and the system is designed to maximize fusion with a unique load-sharing interface and multiple implant footprints. Because it has no profile, the company says soft tissue irritation is reduced for less invasive ACDF procedures, and it eliminates the need for additional plating when addressing adjacent level disease.
Recent Zimmer Spine Moves
While Zimmer Holdings Inc.’s orthopedic business has been driven by rising knee sales and the massive launch of the Persona knee, the company’s spine division has suffered through declining sales in 7 out of the last 8 quarters. The launching of new spine products is welcomed news for the company. Declining sales have lessened over the last three quarters.
Last October, Zimmer Spine launched the Viewline Tube Retraction System. The system facilitates exposure, retraction, decompression and disc preparation for MIS TLIF/PLIF/PLF and microdiscectomy procedures. Also in October 2013, the company signed an exclusive global distribution agreement with Marquette, Michigan-based Frontier Medical Devices for the Lateral Locking Cage, a first of its kind, minimally invasive lateral interbody cage.
In July 2013 under a long-term agreement with SpineCraft, the company began distribution of the APEX Spine System, a comprehensive set of implants and instruments designed to safely and effectively correct a broad range of spinal deformities, as well as complex and degenerative spinal diseases. At the beginning of 2013, the company introduced the V2F Anterior Fixation System, a new implant system for the treatment of thoracolumbar burst fractures, tumors, disc degeneration and other pathologies of the anterior spine. The system represented Zimmer’s first lateral plate system for the spinal trauma segment.
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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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