IlluminOss Medical: First Fracture Patients Treated in U.S.

IlluminOss Medical’s fracture repair technology has now officially been used in the U.S. The company has announced that the first two U.S. patients have been treated through Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine in collaboration with Cabell-Huntington Hospital and the Marshall Clinical Research Center. This effort is part of the U.S. Lightfix clinical trial for the treatment of impending and pathologic fractures in the humerus due to metastatic carcinoma. The company indicates that the IlluminOss System has proven successful in the treatment of over 1, 000 patients in Europe, where it has been used since 2010.

The surgeries were performed by Felix Cheung, M.D., associate professor and chief of the Division of Orthopaedic Oncology. Gene DiPoto, senior vice president of R&D at IlluminOss Medical, worked closely with Dr. Cheung and his team to facilitate the successful treatment of the first U.S. patients.

According to the in the June 23, 2015 news release, “benefits observed from the use of the IlluminOss product in patients include smaller incisions, shorter procedure times, and more rapid post-procedure patient mobility with reduced hospital stays and lower complication rates. Once cured, the implant provides longitudinal strength and rotational stability over the length of the implant and the small diameter of the flexible catheter gives the surgeon greater freedom of surgical approach. In many cases it allows the patient to get back to daily activities more quickly without the hindrance of a hard cast.”

Asked about any special preoperative preparations, Dr. Cheung told OTW, “One of the advantages of the IlluminOss approach is that no special preparations need to be made preoperatively. The procedure provides a simpler, less invasive way to deliver and create an implant, using a light-curable liquid infused in a balloon that polymerizes (hardens) with the application of visible light and provides rotational and bending stability rapidly.”

“Experiencing the procedural ease and the flexibility and simplicity of the implant delivery was quite a ‘wow’ moment. The flexible balloon allows for more choices for entry points. The IlluminOss System was extremely effective and the patients were completely stable immediately following the procedure and reported little to no discomfort. I believe in terms of the benefits offered to both the surgeon and the patient that this is a true game-changer in the way fracture repair can be approached.”