Additive Orthopaedics, LLC is announcing that it has successfully treated a series of patients suffering from painful hammertoes with its innovative (recently FDA cleared) 3D printed hammertoe implant.
Additive Orthopaedics: Success With 3D Printed Implant
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“Our implant has properties and features only possible through the additive manufacturing process, ” said Greg Kowalczyk, president and founder of Additive Orthopaedics, in the July 7, 2016 news release. “We are confident that the market will respond well to this, our patient specific products in development, and our other devices currently being reviewed by the FDA.”
Kowalczyk told OTW, “The most interesting part of this company has been working with surgeons to look at orthopaedic treatments of the foot and ankle through the completely different lens of additive manufacturing. Innovations which were not possible with subtractive manufacturing now are and we are only at the very beginning of its potential.”
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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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