The administrators of 22 orthopedic hospitals in the United States are smiling a little broader this week. Each of them was named by the Women’s Choice Award program as operating the 22 best orthopedic hospitals in the United States. In alphabetical order, here are the winning hospitals. Baylor Surgical Hospital at Fort Worth (TX) CarolinaEast […]
Bones and fruit, in a blend which Penn State University researchers call “citrate,” can provide that little extra “oomph” required to grow bone more quickly and reliably. According to the researchers, “citrate”—a natural and presumably organic product of bones and citrus fruit will “juice-up” stem cells which, in turn, will grow bone while also keeping […]
John A. Szivek, Ph.D., a biomedical engineer and professor of orthopedic surgery at the University of Arizona (UA), has received a five-year, $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to learn how to heal bone fractures using a combination of 3D printing and adult stem cells. “Imagine an impact that causes half […]
Your son or daughter wants to play high school football. Then make sure they attend a big school—the bigger the better. Players from small schools face more than double the risk of injury—including concussion—than do those on the teams playing for the largest schools said Lauren Pierpont, a graduate student at the University of Colorado, […]
Around the world, women make up less than 5% of the world’s practicing orthopedic surgeons. In terms of future orthopedic surgeons, women now account for 14.2% of orthopedic surgery residents, according to Gudrun Mirick Mueller, M.D.—who is one of the five female orthopedic surgeons at Hennepin Healthcare. Hennepin Healthcare, located on South Eighth Street in […]
Aspirin, by itself, may be sufficient to balance the risks of venous thromboembolism (VTE) and bleeding following total knee joint replacement surgery, according to a 41,537-patient study of knee patients at 29 hospitals in Michigan. Led by University of Michigan’s Brandon R. Hood, M.D., the research team designed the study “… to compare rates of […]
Tape has gone to the races. If you have attended a foot race lately you may have seen runners peeling strips of brightly colored tape off their legs and from around their knees or ankles. The tape they are using is called kinesiology tape or kinesio tape, according to a recent article titled “What Exactly […]
Cannabis use has been tied to concurrent and lasting changes in adolescent cognitive functions, according to a study that tracked Canadian high school students for four years. The story is reported by Judy George, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today It was cannabis use, and not alcohol consumption, that was linked to lagged changes in inhibitory control […]
From Colombia comes word of research that umbilical cord blood can be used to repair cleft palates in babies. The new treatment has been used successfully with nine children. Researchers believe the treatment will eliminate the need for bone grafts when the children are older. A cleft palate is a situation in which the skull […]
A team of researchers at the University of New Mexico (UNM), led by Assistant Professor Christina Salas with assistance from a rotating team of about 15 engineering students, is looking to change how orthopedists handle ligament reconstructions. The research is being done by two UNM departments—the Department of Orthopedics and the Department of Engineering. Salas […]
Drug prices go up when there is a shortage. That’s the conclusion of a University of Pittsburgh (UPMC) and Harvard study (“Changes in Drug Pricing After Drug Shortages in the United States”) published in the September 2018 Annals of Internal Medicine. Okay, so the law of supply and demand has not been repealed. And, we […]
A broken bone may be just an inconvenience to a young person but for one who is elderly it can be life threatening. The Journal of Internal Medicine reported in 2017 that “one in three adults aged 50 and older die within 12 months” from fracture-related complications following a fall that breaks a bone. The […]
Orthopedic surgeon Scott Trenhaile, M.D. of Rockford, Illinois, has, in this writer’s opinion, grasped some of the rarely spoken anxieties of female patients who are scheduled for surgery. To his credit he has moved to do something to calm them. Surgery alone can be frightening enough. But envisioning oneself lying exposed on the operating table […]
Fractures shorten life expectancy. A study of 30,000 women and men in Denmark, led by Jack Cush, M.D, found that a fracture, any fracture, increased that patient’s 10-year mortality risk—but that the risk of death was highest in the first year after the fracture. Cush is the director of clinical rheumatology at the Baylor Research […]
Australia has one of the highest rates of knee replacements in the world. Between 2003 and 2014, the number of knee replacements performed each year increased by 97% in the private sector and 71% in the public sector. In-hospital rehabilitation after knee replacements has also been increasing in Australia. This is despite the fact that […]
Pardraig M. Strappe, Ph.D., a microbiologist at the Central Queensland University, Australia, is using 3D printing with human stem cells and crocodile cartilage in an attempt to discover a new way to treat and repair arthritis and joint injuries. Led by Strappe, a group of researchers are working to perfect a process to extract growth […]
To help hospital administrators manage their constantly evolving healthcare systems, the American Hospital Association (AHA) plans to launch an innovation center to support hospitals’ efforts to “keep up” with evolving technology and care models. The AHA Center for Health Innovation will officially launch in September 2018 according to Paige Minemyer, editor at fiercemarkets.com. The center […]
Patients with missing bone due to injury or disease have a plethora of options for bone grafts to replace it. There’s autograft, or allograft, or any number of calcium-based products, recombinant bone morphogenic proteins (BMP) and even glass (BioGlass). Now researchers at New York University are developing another option: 3D printed ceramic implants that dissolve […]
Patients who are missing some bone due to injury or disease have a number of options for treatment. One is a bone graft to replace their missing bone. Another is an autograft, which is using material that comes from the patient’s own body to form a replacement. And the third is an allograft, which is […]
René St-Arnaud, Ph.D., director of research at Shriners Hospital for Children, in Canada, reports that a Vitamin D metabolite—24,25(OH)2D—results in faster and better bone fracture healing. His peer reviewed study, which gave both granular detail of the effects of Vitamin D and the analysis of its biology, was published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation. […]
A major problem in working with stem cells to treat a variety of diseases is getting enough of them. The only way to increase the numbers of stem cells, once they have been removed from the body, is to convince them to reproduce themselves in sufficient numbers to be useful. That problem may have been […]
A third of all global deaths stem from conditions as common as bone fractures, according to an estimate by the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery. Two organizations, Science Care and SIGN, have partnered up to do something about the unnecessary deaths that result from untreated or ill-treated bone fractures. Science Care operates the largest whole-body […]
Be careful blowing your nose. That is the advice being given by a British doctor after treating a women who blew too hard—and fractured a bone in her left eye socket. Doctors compared the effort she had put into blowing her nose to a sock in the jaw. According to a report BMJ Case Reports, […]
A trip to a hospital as a patient is, almost without exception, a trying and daunting experience. Cornell University Press’ “The Informed Patient – A Complete Guide to a Hospital Stay” gives patients the kind of information which can lower anxiety by demystifying the processes, quirks and culture of today’s modern hospital. If a friend […]
A key move in the game of soccer is hitting the ball with the head. It is called “heading the ball” and physicians have debated the effect on the player’s body of this maneuver. Judy George, a contributing writer for Med Page Today reports on a study of players who head the ball in a […]
Two studies, at two different institutions, show that a type of blood antibody everyone is born with (a single chain variable region fragment of the IgM E06-E06-scFv) protects against osteoporosis. Elena Ambrogini, M.D., Ph.D.—an assistant professor in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, part of the Department of Internal Medicine in the University of Arkansas […]
After performing free cataract surgeries, the government of a state in India has turned its attention to the problem of joint pain. The Chief Minister of the Indian state of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, has announced that free hip and knee replacement surgeries will be undertaken for the elderly across the state. According to the Mumbai […]
Depriving stem cells of oxygen and forming them into spheroids before using them to treat bone defects increases their ability to form new bone and repair existing bone, according to a new study led by Kent Leach, Ph.D., a professor of Biomedical Engineering and Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of California, Davis. The periodical Stem […]
Dupuytren’s disease is a condition of the hand that causes the fingers to curl irreversibly into the palm. There is currently no treatment for early Dupuytren’s disease. And, typically, patient’s fingers become so bent that their hand function is impaired. About 4% of the population of the UK are affected by this ailment. Researchers at […]
“Studies show that heel runners have an overall injury rate that is approximately twice as high compared to forefoot runners,” claims computer science Professor Dr. Antonio Krüger, at Saarland University in Saarbrücken, Germany. Krüger also questions whether runners can learn a new movement through information technology alone. “An effective analysis of running technique can only […]
Sexual harassment remains a major problem for women who choose careers in medicine, science or engineering according to a report from the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine. The reason, the academies administers say, is because “the organizations’ policies have been more focused on symbolic compliance with the law and reducing liabilities instead of […]
Dogs bark and cats purr. New research indicates that there is something about cat’s purring that stimulates healing in both the cat and humans too. Are cat friendly recovery room in our future? To understand the hidden power of something as simple as a cat’s purr, here is what recent research has discovered. Why Do […]
A patient in her 70s falls and breaks a hip. She also suffers from dementia. The medical team debates which treatment would be better for this patient—surgery on the hip or some sort of non-surgical management. A recent study described in the JAMA Internal Medicine publication found that nursing home patients with dementia who had […]
If researchers at University of Wollongong (UOW) and St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, have their way, doctors will soon mend damaged bone and cartilage with the stroke of a BioPen and eliminate or greatly reduce the need for joint replacements. The BioPen is a handheld 3D printer designed to allow surgeons to “draw” new […]
One of the most common types of wrist ligament injury is one that damages the scapholunate interosseous ligament (SLIL). According to surgeons, injuries to this ligament can lead to the dislocation of the lunate and scaphoid carpal bones in the hand and wrist. This sort of damage often results in long term disability. For athletes, […]
In her excellent story, medical writer Jovana Drinjakovic described what drove graduate student Yonatan Lipsitz, Ph.D. to become a biomedical engineer. Lipsitz wanted to see patients cured by means of stem cell therapies. The problem, however, is cost and scale. Costs are too high. Scale is too low. Laboratories around the world grow stem cells […]
Women pitchers don’t need pitching limits to avoid arm injuries? Baseball leagues and baseball coaches have set strict limits on the number of balls a male pitcher may pitch within a set period of time. But not girls? One reason is that girls play softball and softball pitchers, unlike the male players, throw underhand. Underhanded […]
Who would have guessed? A systematic review of 198 clinical trials suggested that exercising for 52 hours over a six-month period was an optimal dose for cognitive improvement in older adults. That is about a one-hour commitment three times a week, according to Joyce Gomes-Osman, PT, Ph.D., of the University of Miami Miller School of […]
Due to its scientific relevance an article about stem cell produced cartilage by the International Stemcell Corporation (ISCO) has been featured on the cover of the May 2018 issue of the Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, a prestigious peer-reviewed scientific journal. The article is titled “Supplementation of Specific Carbohydrates Results in Enhanced Deposition […]
The most common knee surgery performed on people over 65 is repair of torn meniscus cartilage. The procedure costs up to $10,000 a patient and, according to some surgeons, is largely a waste of time and money and may turn out to be harmful to the patient. According to medical research writer Tim Mullaney, research […]
Blue Cross Blue Shield, Michigan’s largest health insurer, had planned to stop paying for knee arthritis injections. Then it reversed its decision. According to J.C. Reindl of the Detroit Free Press, the company told medical providers last week that it will continue paying for hyaluronic acid injections, also known as viscosupplementation therapy, as it reviews […]
The popularity of same day surgery for joint replacement is growing. Upstate University Hospital at Ononadaga, New York, announced that its patients will have the option of spending only a few hours in the hospital instead of an overnight stay for knee-replacement surgery. The program is called the Swift Knee program, patients for knee-replacement surgery […]
Centers claiming to offer successful treatments for osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee are proliferating in the United States even though existing evidence fails to justify their rapid rate of growth. The centers are claiming an 80 percent success rate in treating knee pain. Costs to treat OA of the knee at these centers ranged from […]
There was a steady decrease in reimbursement for procedures in all orthopedic subspecialties except for removal of an orthopedic implant. Adult reconstruction had the greatest rate of decrease, according to results published in Orthopedics. “Alan H. Daniels, M.D., and his colleagues examined the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for the most common orthopedic and non-orthopedic procedures […]
Organ transplants and other advanced tissue treatments face a seemingly impassable bottleneck. There are only a finite number of organ donors or other sources of biomaterials. Even in the best of cases the organs and tissues which have been donated are rarely perfectly compatible with the recipient and thus may not work well. “Bioengineers would […]
Want to live a longer life? Have hip joint replacement surgery. A study in Sweden found that hip replacement surgery not only improved the quality of life but also increased life expectancy. The study (“Do Patients Live Longer After THA and Is the Relative Survival Diagnosis-specific?”) appeared in Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, a publication […]
Could the gift of a $13 lunch (little more than a burger and a soft drink) influence a doctor to over prescribe opioids? “NO” says common sense. “Yes” says research. A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine reported that physicians who received lunches from drug companies prescribed 9% more opioids than did doctors who had […]
Real time surgical analytics—e.g., anatomical graphic depiction of exactly what occurs during surgery, automatic translation of data into an intelligent, electronic operative report linking every detail including implant location, surgical techniques, product usage, and all clinical parameters—is now part of daily life for surgeons at Irvine, California-based Hoag Orthopedic Institute (HOI). The supplier, ORHub, provides […]
Denis Evseenko, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of orthopedic surgery, and stem cell and regenerative medicine at the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, is the proud recipient of a $3.4 million grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH) to fund his research into the development, progression and prevention of osteoarthritis (OA). Another […]
By the year 2030 the U.S. will be dealing with a shortage of 120,000 physicians according to a report by the Association of American Medical Colleges. Moreover, people 65 years of age or more will have increased by 50%. If you think the wait time to see a physician is long now, just wait a […]
Not long before her seventh birthday, Amelia Eldred, of Great Britain, received some devastating medical news. A 10-centimeter tumor in her left leg had broken the bone. When the tumor did not respond to chemotherapy, doctors told her parents they should amputate the leg. BUT…that was not to be the end of the story. The […]
A Toronto, Canada. hospital (Women’s College Hospital) is offering joint replacement patents a “six-hour surgery and you are back hone” procedure. It is not quite a drive-by joint replacement surgery, but it comes close. Where patients once spent two or three days in the hospital recovering from the surgery, this Toronto institution has joint replacement […]
The Rutland Regional Medical Center, of Rutland, Vermont, has won the Advisory Board 2018 Workplace of the Year Award. This annual award recognizes hospitals and health systems nationwide that have outstanding levels of employee engagement. According to Vermont Business Magazine, Rutland regional is one of only 20 hospitals recognized nationwide and is the only hospital […]
A somewhat new specialty has been developing among athletic trainers. Some trainers do not feel that they need to be limited to the big three sports of football, basketball and baseball. Because in the West—there are rodeos. In Lubbock, Texas, the 76th annual ABC Pro Rodeo ran at the end of March. According to KCRD […]
Given the choice of a 75-minute plane flight versus taking a boat from a remote island off the coast of Scotland to a Glasgow hospital for surgery, many patients would choose the quicker plane flight. Until they learn, that is, that even short air travel flights add an additional risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) following […]
Does growing marijuana case carpal tunnel syndrome? Calvin Hughes, writing for a publication called “Wellness,” reports that the Center for Disease Control (CDC) is warning cannabis growers that trimming marijuana plants with sheers can cause carpal tunnel syndrome. The warning is based on a 2015 report from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health […]
The most prevalent musculoskeletal disease and a leading cause of disability worldwide is osteoarthritis. There is, as yet, no truly disease modifying treatment for osteoarthritis. Patients and doctors manage the disease with pain relievers and, ultimately, joint replacement surgery. Evidence suggests that patients with osteoarthritis fall into multiple phenotypic subgroups defined based on the main […]
The FDA has issued a 510(k) clearance for a new internal fixation system for Charcot foot. The system, named the G-Beam™ Fusion Beaming System, is manufactured by Orthofix International N.V., a global medical device company focused on musculoskeletal healing products and value-added services. According to the press release, “Designed primarily for the treatment of Charcot […]
For the first time, titanium fiber plates have been tested in an animal model. Japanese researchers from Shinshu University found that, unlike conventional plates, the titanium fiber plates do not cause bone embrittlement after close contact with the bone for prolonged periods. The practical significance of this is that plates would not need to be […]
A new 3D printing project, known as Follow Knee, was recently announced in France that its supporters claim “will have the potential to improve the lives of millions suffering from knee problems.” Financed by the French National Research Agency (ANR) through a grant of 7.9 million Euros, its supporters anticipate that the program will “revolutionize […]
You break a bone. The doctor sets it in plaster and you wait for the bone to heal. Usually it does. But what do you do when it does not heal as expected? A remedy, bone morphogenic proteins, does not work well with all patients and can have side effects of excessive or altered direction […]
It is no big news that hip replacement surgery improves the quality of life. A study led by Wolters Kluwer Health, indicates that patients undergoing elective total hip arthroplasty (THA) have a slightly improved survival rate compared to the general population. This held true through a decade after surgery. Peter Cnudde M.D., who, with a […]
“Scientists at the University of York have shown that altering the structure of sugar chains on the surface of stem cells could help promote bone growth in the body.” “The discovery could have important implications for future treatments of osteoporosis, a condition that affects more than 3 million in the UK and causes bone to […]
The fifth metatarsal is the bone in the foot that connects the small toe to the ankle. A break in that bone is called a Jones Fracture. The Jones Fracture has usually been treated by a surgeon by implanting “a screw into the canal of the fifth metatarsal bone to draw the fractured ends back […]
ConforMIS, Inc., a medical technology company located in Billeric, Massachusetts, has been awarded a “3A” rating for its Total CR Knee replacement system. The rating was given by the Orthopaedic Data Evaluation Panel (ODEP) in the United Kingdom reflecting on “strong evidence of implant performance over three years, including low revision rates as indicated in […]
Stem cells and lizard tails are the focus of research at three Arizona institutions where researchers hope to get new clues on exactly how the amazing ability of lizards to regenerate their tails can teach scientists about how stem cells promote nerve regrowth. The group of researchers pursuing this line of inquiry hail from Arizona […]
Switching patients from a direct oral anticoagulant to aspirin in the early days after a hip or knee replacement is effective for the prevention of symptomatic venous thromboembolism (VTE), according to the results of a new study led by David Anderson, M.D. of Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada. Anderson said, “At the end of the day, […]
According to a Baylor College of Medicine expert those seeking relief from sports-related injuries due to conditions like osteoarthritis of the knee, partial rotator cuff tears, joint and tendon injuries, or tennis elbow may find it in a fat-derived stem cell injection. “With this treatment, I can tackle a number of non-operative sports and musculoskeletal […]
Wait times for joint replacement surgery in the United Kingdom have gone from 18 weeks to 18 months in four years, according to Sophie Borland and Fiona Parker, writing for England’s Daily Mail. Many of the waiting patients are in severe pain and can walk only short distances. For a knee replacement, the wait for […]
Medical marijuana is being used more and more to deal with chronic pain. A registered pharmacist with an MBA based in Branford, Connecticut, is behind one of the more notable marijuana business success stories. Named Bluepoint Wellness, it was founded by pharmacist Nick Tamborrino in 2013, expanded it in 2016 and now serves 3,000 patients. […]
Dr. Behr, the OrthoAtlanta Medical Director, recently completed his eighth medical mission to Haiti.
Researchers at the University of Sidney, Australia, have developed a 3D implant which, they believe, could mend broken bones. Led by Professor Hala Zreiqat, a team of researchers at the Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Research Unit have developed a 3D printed ceramic implant that mends broken limbs by gradually turning them into natural bone. The […]
Tom Waddell, a graduate of two Wisconsin universities (at Stout and Madison) and an electrical engineer was, for several years, project manager for a long list of industrial and medical device companies, among them Honeywell and Medtronic, before he branched out to form his own 12-person medical device consulting firm—Waddell Group. His company’s stated purpose […]
According to a new Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) study, patients who had a one-on-one education session with a physical therapist and access to a web-based microsite prior to joint replacement surgery achieved physical therapy goals more quickly after knee or hip replacement compared to patients who did not have the educational session or access […]
A biotechnology startup spun off from the University of California at Davis, called Molecular Matrix Inc., has received Food and Drug Administration 510(k) clearance for a carbohydrate-based polymer that can help injured bones heal and regrow. Osteo-P, a synthetic bone graft substitute, supports and guides the growth of new bone. The biomaterial is later resorbed […]
Jake Barralet, BEng (Hons), Ph.D., has been named to the position of Director of Innovation for the Steinberg Centre for Simulation and Interactive Learning and for the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
A team led by University of Southern California (USC) scientist Denis Evseenko, M.D., Ph.D., an associate professor of orthopedic surgery at USC, hopes to delay or reduce the need for joint replacement operations with an injection. He and his team have been studying a new small molecule for arthritis called “Regulator A of Cartilage Growth […]
Researchers at the University of Birmingham, UK and their colleagues have developed a new method for growing bone tissue “in a dish.” They claim that their developed bone resembles its natural counterpart on both structural and functional levels and could be used for studying bone-related health issues. Scientists in Professor Liam Grover’s (BMedSc(Hons), Ph.D., FIMMM) […]
In an article by Allison Inserro, published on AJMC.com, “Patients having total knee arthroplasty (TKA) who were treated with liposomal bupivacaine were discharged to their homes sooner and had a significantly shorter hospital stay compared with patients who did not receive that drug during surgery, according to a recently published study looking at the value […]
Want a new hip and a vacation at the same time? Consider Southwest Florida where medical tourism is about to take off. As SHR Orthopedics explains it, “It’s now possible for you to have a same-day knee replacement, hip replacement or other total joint replacement on an outpatient basis, if your overall health is good […]
Falls in winter “are just a patch of ice away.” And among the most frequently broken area of the body in a winter fall is the wrist. Brett Richards, M.D., Ogden Clinic, Ogden, Utah, points out that a wrist fracture is seldom a simple break. Distal radius fractures, he says, trigger soft tissue injuries in […]
Researchers at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center wondered why runners, usually athletes in good physical condition, were getting painful backaches. To find out researchers used a motion-capture system and pressure-sensitive plates that collected data while the participants ran around a track. The data was then used to create a 3D-model bones and muscles […]
For the committed runner who “has everything” here is something new. It is a set of in-ear headphones that the manufacturers claim will diagnose and correct a runner’s running form. It is as if the runner has a running coach in each ear analyzing the run and giving helpful advice. While the runner is running, […]
It is time for some good news. Researchers have reported that the prevalence of severe obesity among young, low-income children is on the decline. Moreover, according to Kristen Ionaco, staff writer for MedPage Today, the rate has been steadily declining since 2004. Liping Pan, M.D., M.P.H., of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) […]
The search goes on—for a biologic solution to damaged or worn-down cartilage. Now a group of researchers at Osaka University have passed their first-in-man test of a novel, scaffold-free mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) solution. One year after implantation, healthy cartilage. Here are the before and after photos. What makes this approach so innovative is that […]
I well remember a conversation I had with a physician friend many years ago. Our topic was pain experienced by patients and my doctor friend was defending the use of opioids. “They are a gift from God,” he declared emphatically, his attitude reflecting the thinking of the 1970s. No one wants to live with daily […]
In a procedure being called “science fiction” an Israeli man became the first ever to receive a surgical procedure intended to regrow a section of his shin bone. Eight months earlier, following a car accident, the patient had had a part of his shin bone surgically removed. Earlier this December, surgeons successfully dealt with his […]
The board of directors of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) has approved a new position statement that urges orthopedic surgeons and patients to be fully aware of the risks and benefits of stem cell and other biologic treatments for musculoskeletal joint conditions. The statement is titled “Use of Emerging Biologic Therapies.” Biologics are […]
Each year, more than 300,000 Americans receive a hip replacement. Now doctors at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center are using a procedure called subchondroplasty to give patients with damaged hips treatment options other than a hip replacement. Subchondroplasty requires a doctor to bore a small hole in the hip joint and use it […]
Engineers from Pennsylvania State University believe they have found a way to create the structural framework for growing living tissue using an off-the-shelf, hobbyist 3-D printer. At present, nearly all transplant tissues, such as hearts and tendons, come from living or dead donors. These researchers are looking for a way to create replacement tissues by […]
Two Israeli surgeons used material co-developed by Israeli and American scientists for NASA in successful orthopedic operations. The material, a polymer-made ballast, was intended to be a substitute for the steel in jet engine bearings. It was used in orthopedics in Israel in a hip replacement operation a few months ago and, most recently, in […]
A body having the capacity to regenerate its own parts, once the realm of medical science fiction, is now within reach, according to Samuel Stupp, Ph.D., director of Northwestern University’s Louis A. Simpson and Kimberly K. Querrey Institute for BioNanotechnology. According to a writer for Northwestern Medicine Now, Stupp has pioneered one of the advances […]
Exactech, Inc., of Gainesville, Florida, has sponsored the first successful surgery using its new Vantage Total Ankle Mobile Bearing System. This device is the newest addition to the Exactech extremities product line. Victor Valderrabano, M.D., Ph.D., chairman of the Swiss Ortho Center, Basel, Switzerland, performed this first case in the world surgery. He said of […]
Health Dialog, a provider of integrated population health management solutions for health plans, risk-bearing providers and self-insured employers, announced that the Washington State Health Care Authority has certified its decision aids for hip and knee surgery. Decision aids are tools that facilitate shared decision making (SDM). SDM helps patients choose evidence-based and often less invasive […]
Sanford Health hospitals located, at Fargo, North Dakota, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, have launched two Food and Drug Admiration approved clinical trials using stem cells extracted from abdominal fat. The cells are being used to treat two separate problems—small and partial thickness tears in the rotator cuff and hard-to-heal skin ulcers said David Pearce, […]
When a cyclist starts to fall off his bike he, often puts out his arms to break the fall. The force of the fall then travels through the arms to the shoulder, breaking the collarbone. Breaks of the clavicle or collarbone account for about 5% of all adult fractures according to the American Academy of […]
If you have the misfortune to break a hip, try not to delay getting it repaired. A recent observational study conducted in Canada revealed that the risk of death rises as do complications in situations where hip repairs were delayed more than 48 hours. The study entitled “Timing of Operations and Outcomes for Patients With […]
A hospital in China known as First Hospital has completed what is believed to be the first knee replacement surgery using a 3D printed implant made of tantalum, a metal commonly alloyed with titanium. “Tantalum is a rare, blue-gray metal, with an extremely high melting point of over 3,000 degrees Celsius. Researchers have mixed it […]
A product of Korea, judged by the country’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to rank among the top five in global market share within the next seven years, was recognized by an awards ceremony in Seoul. The product is Novosis, a bone graft infused with a recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein. It is second […]
Life is getting tough in parts of England. The officials who oversee medical care for the county of Hertfordshire have ruled that unless obese patients lose a specified amount of weight and smokers quit smoking for at least eight weeks, they will not be allowed to undergo elective surgery, according to a writer for MedPage […]
Shoulder pain is one of the most annoying of orthopedic issues—in part because it interferes with such mundane activities as driving a car or getting dressed. Treating shoulder pain ranges from taking pain pills and engaging in physical therapy to undergoing surgery. According to Nicky Broyd, writing for WebMD, 2.4% of all visits to doctors […]
With news coming almost daily of dramatic medical advances, one vital area has remained intractable to research. That is the repair of a severed nerve in the spinal column. The fault lies with the nerve cells, themselves, which stubbornly refuse to regenerate. As one researcher bluntly put it, “To date there are neither workable repairs […]
A knee joint replacement that went terribly wrong led to the amputation of Nikki Grace-Strader’s leg below the knee. “I had that knee replacement and unfortunately it didn’t work. It failed,” said Nikki, “So, I needed to have a revision to the replacement. I did that in May of 2015. I got a post-operative infection […]
Because of the obesity epidemic in Great Britain, surgeons are performing hip replacements on children as young as ten, according to statistics from the National Health Service (NHS) Digital. The data reveals that in the past three years, the total number of obese people needing joint replacements has risen by almost 60% to more than […]
A new study of more than 19,000 knee dislocation cases in the U.S. between 2000 and 2012 provides a painful indication of how the nation’s obesity epidemic is changing the risk, severity and cost of a traumatic injury. The study, “Increased Incidence of Vascular Injury In Obese Patients with Knee Dislocations” was published in the […]
No one argues with the concept that every patient deserves the best outcome after a major hip or knee surgery. Now a California study suggests that the goals of improving the patient experience and lowering the cost of care can be achieved by engaging the world of digital therapeutics. The study, reported by Anthem, Inc., […]
An ankle injury presents a problem not only to the individual who experiences it, but also to the surgeon who attempts a repair. According to Eric Pravin, writing for The Washington Post’s Health and Science section, many surgeons discouraged patients from getting a procedure called an ankle arthroplasty—because of persistent controversy over the earlier surgical […]
Chambersburg Hospital in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, opened its doors to patients in 1895. It has been winning awards ever since. For the seventh consecutive year HealthGrades has named the Chambersburg Hospital one of America’s best hospitals for orthopedic, coronary intervention, pulmonary care, and critical care for 2018. The awards do not stop there. To produce its […]
To help consumers compare costs among hospitals and bring more transparency to hospital pricing practices, the Maryland Health Care Commission has authored a website that will let Maryland consumers compare hospital rates for a variety of procedures. According to Andrea K. McDaniels, reporter for The Baltimore Sun, a knee replacement at Medstar Harbor Hospital will […]
The most common cause of heel pain is what is known as plantar fasciitis. This occurs when the ligament connecting the heel bone to the toes gets strained, weakened, swollen and irritated or inflamed. The pain from plantar fasciitis is considerable, as this writer can affirm from personal experience. When my foot pain developed I […]
John Lucas, M.D., the head of the Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System’s Sports Medicine Institute, has started a new project with Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research that will study the driving capabilities of concussed students. “About one-tenth of the cases I see are concussions,” said Lucas, “I was wondering if there could be a […]
Biologic joint restoration using donor tissue instead of traditional metal and plastic may be an option for active patients with joint defects according to researchers at the University of Missouri (MU) School of Medicine. A biologic joint repair typically takes longer to heal than does a traditional replacement. However, if a biologic repair is successful […]
Medical history is made when brave surgeons encounter equally brave patients. The patient in his case is 20-year-old Penelope Heller. Leading the surgery on Heller was Jeffrey L. Port, M.D, attending cardiothoracic surgeon at New York Presbyterian /Weill Cornell Medical Center. Port undertook the operation to revise a prior sternum/ribcage removal and reconstruction done in […]
MMJ Labs LLC, a women-owned company in Atlanta, Georgia, has been awarded U.S. patent number 9,358,152 which relates to and identifies the firm’s pain management program. MMJ Labs patent portfolio is supported by research into the synergizing effects of thermal and vibrational stimulation to combat pain. Company officials explain that their VibraCool® vibrational cryotherapy device […]
Extremity Medical, LLC, of Parsippany, New Jersey, announces the release of its next generation viable bone cell graft for use in surgery on the foot, ankle, wrist and hand—BioFuse. According to the firm’s press release, this live cell graft supplies the physiologic and essential components needed for robust bone formation. Among them are osteogenic cells, […]
Medical researchers in Australia are cheering what they claim is a breakthrough new drug—Pentosan Polysulfate Sodium (PPS)—that has the potential to eliminate the need for kip or knee replacements. That advancement, alone, would save the world’s health systems tens of billions of dollars. According to News Corp Australia, more than three million Australians crippled by […]
An orthopedic rehabilitation device called the Med4 Elite that applies alternating heat and cooling to a wound area (113 degrees Fahrenheit to 38 degrees Fahrenheit in less than one minute) has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA. The Med4 Elite is described by its manufacturer, Game Ready of Concord, California, as being a “powerful multi-modality […]
If the World Obesity Federation’s researchers are correct in their estimates, eight years from today obesity will cost the world’s health systems 1.2 trillion dollars. In eight years, they say, a third of the population of the world will be obese. The World Obesity Federation has added in to its calculations, not just cancer, diabetes […]
It is time to get acquainted with vesicles—nano-sized particles that researchers believe can be induced to repair damaged tissue. A new approach to bone and tissue regeneration, using vesicles, is described in a paper published in Scientific Reports. The article describes how scientists have copied the body’s healing process using cell derived nano-sized particles called […]
The latest Silicon Valley bid to disrupt a traditional industry appears to be aimed at healthcare, according to Matt Kubert, writing for Fierce Healthcare. Google recently launched a company called Cityblock that will focus on providing team-based health care for low-income communities. The venture will rely on sidewalk labs and behavioral health coaches. Healthcare organizations […]
Is the game of rugby hazardous to the health of the players? In a new study by researchers from the Arthritis Research UK Centre for Sport, Exercise and Osteoarthritis, researchers from the University of Oxford and the Department for Health have discovered that former elite, male rugby players are at a greater risk of suffering […]
A survey of 13,088 boys and girls in grades 8, 10 and 12 revealed that nearly 1 in 5 teenagers has been diagnosed at least once with a concussion. About 6% of the children reported experiencing head trauma multiple times. The study was carried out by a University of Michigan research team. The students responded […]
Why not use bone? A German surgeon asked himself that question and created a new product. For decades surgeons have used metal screws to fasten together two pieces of fractured bone. Then, when the fracture has healed, they have had to go back in and remove the metal screws—which the body perceives and treats as […]
Nipro, an Osaka, Japan, based company, is seeking approval from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare for a stem cell cure for spinal injuries which the company hopes to launch in 2018. Since 2014 Nipro has carried out joint research with Sapporo Medical University. The company has been successful in trials where stem cells, […]
There is good news for obese patients who are contemplating a joint replacement. Contrary to previous research, a new study suggests that the obese may not need to lose weight prior to their surgery. The study found that obese patients experience the same pain relief and improved function six months post-surgery as do normal weight […]
CoreLink, LLC, a designer and manufacturer of spinal implant systems, has introduced the Scaltoff Wire, a patent pending, stackable guide wire for its Entasis Sacroiliac Joint Fusion System. According to the company, the convertible length wire enables constant control during drilling, tapping, and insertion steps yet can be quickly shortened to accommodate the C-arm in […]
What is it with women? A recent study found that four out of five women with osteoarthritis consider getting knee or hip replacement surgery as a last resort with the result that women spend more time in pain than is necessary. According to writer Michelle Tomkins, more than 30 million Americans suffer from osteoarthritis. A […]
An Ohio State University (OSU) study led by Timothy L. Miller, M.D. spent three years studying the relationship between stress fractures and the time it took for an injured Division I athletes to return to running. They found that the lower the athlete’s body mass index (BMI) the longer it took to heal. For runners, […]
The CTL Medical Corporation, a Dallas, Texas based firm involved in medical device manufacturing, has received FDA clearance to market its Matisse Titanium CIF Cage implant with TiCro textured surface. The device is used in spine fusion surgery. The manufacturer claims that the cage, with CTL Medical’s proprietary TiCro surface technology, offers 200% greater endplate […]
Editor’s note: This past July we published a short article about staff injuries in hospitals. The statistics from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics are sobering. Working in a hospital is more dangerous than construction work, wood product manufacturing, farming and, nearly, police work in terms of the number of recordable injuries or illnesses per […]
Dr. Lee is an orthopedic surgeon who has been named president of the 2,200-member American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society.
Skeptics of Intralink-Spine, Inc.’s Réjuve System treatment for lower back pain are turning into believers according to a news release from the company. Data from a 12-month study of the safety and feasibility of the treatment indicates that the system continues to effectively eliminate or reduce low back pain and disability associated with degenerative disc […]
An August 17, 2017 Bonus BioGroup Ltd press release announces what is claimed to be a world first, an Israeli man received laboratory-grown semi-liquid bone tissue injected in his arm. The human bone tissue had been grown in a laboratory from the 40-year-old patient’s own fat cells. The procedure was performed at Emek Medical Center […]
The first human cases of facet joint syndrome (FJS) to be treated with Medovex Corporation’s DenerveX System took place in Great Britain. The DenerveX System, which has received CE Mark approval and clearance for commercialization in the European countries, is a new device designed to provide enduring relief of facet joint syndrome pain. Facet joint […]
Critical limb ischemia (CLI) is an advanced stage of peripheral artery disease. Fatty deposits block arteries in the legs, severely reducing blood flow and causing pain, non-healing ulcers, and gangrene. Patients with CLI are at a high risk of amputation and death. Those patients unsuitable for revascularization are left with no adequate treatment options. Millions, […]
The FDA has awarded 510(k) clearance for the Novel Axis Charcot Fixation System, made by Extremity Medical, LLC of Parsippany, New Jersey. According to the manufacturer, the system is a comprehensive axial fixation system for which provides biomechanical advantages allowing for “super construct” type fixation. The Axis Charcot Fixation System in diameters of 5.5, 6.5 […]
Pinnacle Spine Group, LLC, based in Dallas, Texas, has been granted a U.S. Patent No. 9,649,203 titled “Methods of Post-Filling an Intervertebral Implant” that reinforces the company’s exclusivity position with respect to its in situ graft delivery technology. Like previously issued patents, it relates to the delivery of graft material to fill the internal chambers […]
PuraPly AM, an antimicrobial wound management product made by Organogenesis Inc., was named one of the “Top 10 Innovations in Podiatry” by Podiatry Today. It was selected for its impact on reducing bioburden in wounds. PuraPly AM is an FDA 510(k) cleared Class II medical device that is intended for the management of acute and […]
Andrews Institute for Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine in Gulf Breeze, Florida, and the Kuala Lumpur Sports Medicine Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, have partnered to conduct a randomized clinical trial evaluating the use of a patient’s own stem cells to regenerate knee cartilage. Lead investigator, Adam Anz, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon at Andrews Institute, noted […]
The FDA is going high tech. According to Evan Sweeney, a writer for MedTech, the agency will use computer modeling (AI aka artificial intelligence) to modernize its regulatory process. The goal will be to accelerate the agency’s ability to evaluate medical product innovation. This decision represents a new approach that will use computer models and […]
A 32-year-old woman from Iran has been identified by her Indian doctors as one of the youngest persons in the world to undergo bilateral total knee replacement surgery. The patient’s knees had developed osteoarthritis secondary to ankylosing spondylitis. The report stated that while ankylosing spondylitis usually affects the spine and hip, in this case both […]
Formus Labs, a spin-out company of Auckland Engineering Institute, is pioneering a cloud-based, custom orthopedic program that it claims will significantly cut waiting times for joint replacements. “Our goal is to bring costs down and make patient-matched orthopaedics more accessible by giving surgeons something very easy to use,” said Ju Zhang, Ph.D., company founder and […]
Are hospitals overreacting to safety concerns to the point that elderly or disabled patients are being held without their consent? A new study says “yes.” Furthermore, this writer experienced it first-hand. This is a cautionary tale for both providers and patients.
On June 22, 2017, Exactech, Inc. announced that it had won Japanese approval for its shoulder, knee and hip replacement systems and that the devices had been recently used in their first procedures in the region. Officials of the Gainesville, Florida-based company said they won regulatory approval to introduce additional products from its three segments […]
Nelson Mandela International Day is coming up in less than a month. On Mandela’s birthday (July 18) people are urged to honor his legacy through volunteering or performing some sort of service for at least 67 minutes. The day celebrates Mandela’s belief that each individual has the power to transform the world. The Western Cape […]
Welcome to the world of organoids—miniature stem cell derived human organs. According to Don Gibbons, writing for MedPage Today, organoids are expected to become “invaluable tools” for modeling disease, drug screening, toxicity testing, and a wide variety of therapeutic purposes. Participants at the Boston June 2017 meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research […]
An Ohio State University (OSU) study led by Timothy L. Miller, M.D., spent three years studying the relationship between stress fractures and the time it took for the injured athlete to return to running on a Division 1 team. They found that the lower the athlete’s body mass index (BMI) the longer it took to […]
Stryker Orthopaedics celebrated a milestone when surgeons performed the 100,000th robotic-arm assisted procedure in the U.S. using the Mako system. “This milestone demonstrates strong continuing acceptance of this technology and highlights how together with our customers we are creating the future by growing the robotics market,” said Bill Huffnagle, president of Stryker’s Joint Replacement Division. […]
Kaiser Permanente found that looking at healthcare delivery from the provider’s perspective is a big waste of patient’s time. As explained in an article in Harvard Business Review, a radical change in perspective reduced the hospital stay for a knee or hip replacement from three days to zero. The “secret sauce” was simple. Medical staff […]
The University of Bristol, United Kingdom, has taken on the solving of a major medical mystery. The mystery is why do about 1% of patients getting a hip or knee joint replacement, develop a joint infection. Called a periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) it often results in severe physical and emotional suffering. Treatment options include the […]
Saint Anne’s Hospital of Fall River, Massachusetts, is the 2017 Women’s Choice Award winner for being one of Americas “Best Hospitals for Orthopedics.” The award places Saint Anne’s in the top 11% of U.S. hospitals that offer orthopedic services. This is not the hospital’s only recognition. Saint Anne’s is one of two hospitals in Massachusetts […]
Tim Goldsmith, M.D., chief clinical officer at Youth Villages, is the first person in Tennessee to receive meniscus replacement surgery in which a surgeon inserted an Active Implants, LLC’s NUsurface meniscus implant device in his knee joint. The meniscus is the tissue pad between the thigh and shin bones. Currently in clinical trials, the NUsurface […]
“Cocooning,” once the recommended treatment for young athletes who have experienced a concussion, has fallen out of favor. Instead of prohibiting physical activity, reading or even visits from friends for weeks at a time, doctors are now advising their concussion patients to start being physically active within a day or two after experiencing the concussion. […]
A team of scientists from the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi has succeeded in developing bioprinted cartilage. This development is the first time that a bioprinted tissue has been created in an India-based lab. The bioink, developed by Sourabh Ghosh, Ph.D., from the Department of Textile Technology at IIT, contains a high concentration of […]
If 3D printing in the medical field rocks your boat, Australia is the place to watch. An Australian woman recently received a 3D-printed titanium jaw implant. A team of Australian researchers are working to 3D printed ears, and robotics have been combined with 3D printing to design a prosthetic with a sense of touch. Several […]
Two orthopedic practices, Commonwealth Orthopaedic Centers and Reconstructive Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine are combining to form what will be Cincinnati, Ohio’s largest independent orthopedic practice. The new organization will be called “OrthoCincy” and will soon launch its own new website, www.OrthoCincy.com. The organization will be served by 27 physicians, 23 physician assistants and nurse practitioners […]
Nine thousand surgical patients being treated at Kaiser Permanente’s 20 Northern California medical centers had a one-third relative reduction in postoperative complication rates and a 21% reduction in opioid prescribing rates according to a new study. The study also showed higher rates of home discharge versus discharge to skilled nursing facilities among hip fracture patients. […]
With plans to expand distribution and access to functional electrical stimulation (FES) technologies in the European Union, UK, Switzerland, Norway, Turkey and India, two companies, Bioness Inc. of Valencia, California and Ottobock of Duberstadt, Germany have formed a partnership. Company officials claim that the collaboration will combine best-in-class technologies and resources to transform the mobility […]
Omar Ishrak, CEO of Medtronic plc, met in Jerusalem recently with Israel’s Minister of Economy and Industry Eli Cohen and Israel Innovation Authority Director Aharon Aharon to discuss Medtronic’s plan to establish two R&D centers in Israel. According to the Israel business publication Globes, Aharon said, “We see life sciences and medical equipment as a […]
Every year, about 100,000 people in the United States experience a broken bone that is so damaged by the trauma that it never fully heals. Doctors faced with these problems often attempt to graft another bone into the site of the fracture. For best results this piece of replacement bone should come from the person […]
Despite the fact that physicians extract compatible bone marrow from thousands of donors for their patients, roughly 20,000 other patients are left waiting every year for a bone marrow transplant that could cure them of bone marrow diseases. Harvesting stem cells from a healthy donor’s hip or sternum is an arduous procedure that takes time […]
A damaged meniscus is hard to repair or replace. As Lauren Dubinsky wrote of researchers working at Duke University to replicate the meniscus, “historically it has been a challenge to create recipes for hydrogels that have the same strength as human cartilage and are 3-D printable.” Researchers are not there yet but are getting close. […]
Which is a better place to recover from knee or hip replacement surgery—at home or at a rehab facility? Three studies have come down firmly on the side of home. As reported by Michael Roizen, M.D., and Mehmet Oz, M.D., a study conducted at Thomas Jefferson University School of Medicine of joint replacement patients who […]
Cartiva Inc. of Alpharetta, Georgia, has completed enrollment and treatment of all 50 patients in a multi-center study evaluating the safety and effectiveness of Cartiva’s Synthetic Cartilage Implant (SCI) for first carpometacarpal (CMC) joint osteoarthritis at the base of the thumb. The company conducted the study at nine sites in Canada and the United Kingdom. […]
The Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF) and the National Stem Cell Foundation (NSCF) have partnered to fund a second adult stem cell research grant, called the OREF Clinical Research Grant in Cellular Therapy. As with their co-funded grant in 2014, this collaboration will allow both organizations to direct significant funding to stem cell research, […]
Scientists at the Salk Institute gave sedentary mice a pill containing a chemical compound that mimics the beneficial effects of exercise. To their amazement, the mice who took the pill ran on a treadmill for 270 minutes. That was 70% longer than did mice who had not been given the pill. Ronald M. Evans, Ph.D., […]
Perhaps women physicians should organize or form a union. By every measure, they are paid less than their male counterparts according to the Doximity Physician Compensation Report. This report is the most comprehensive research yet undertaken on physician pay in the United States. It found significant variations in average compensation, across 48 specialties, major cities, […]
Young athletes should save their money and not spend it on sports drinks. Sports specialists say that water is a far better bet for hydration for young athletes than are the drinks. Most youngsters don’t exert themselves at intensity or for a long enough time that requires the extra sugar and salt contained in sports […]
The ACL [anterior cruciate ligament] is one of the major ligaments that provide stability to the knee joint. The age group that is most prone to injury of the ACL is not the ranks of professional athletes, as one might think, but athletes under the age of 25. The number of ACL injuries, particularly among […]
Mumbai-based Regenerative Medical Services Regrow (RMS Regrow) announces that it has received market authorization for India’s first cell therapy product, Chondron ACI, from Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), which works under the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO). The company claims that Chondron ACI is indicated for treatment of cartilage defects of the joints. […]
Australia’s regulatory authorities have cleared Milestone Scientific, Inc., to market its epidural and intra-articular instruments and disposables in Australia. According to the firm’s press release, Milestone’s Dynamic Pressure Sensing® capability in the CompuFlo® Epidural instrument “provides feedback that allows anesthesiologists to correctly identify the epidural space. This has the potential to significantly reduce complications and […]
The Mayo Clinic will double its presence in downtown Minneapolis when it completes work on a 16,000 square-foot addition to its sports medicine facility. According to a Mayo clinic news release, the expansion will include “15 new patient exam rooms; a biomechanics and movement analysis laboratory for sports medicine research; an additional suite for musculoskeletal […]
K2M Group Holdings, Inc. of Leesburg, Virginia and LifeHealthcare Group Limited of Australia-New Zealand, after concluding a successful seven year partnership, have entered into a new five year supply agreement to distribute K2M’s spinal technologies. The partnership’s goal is to establish the number one spine market position in Australia and New Zealand. K2M Group Holdings, […]
The lights in the football stadiums illuminate small towns across rural America on Friday nights where helmeted teens battle for regional football championships. Everyone in towns lit up by the lights from the football stadium comes out to watch the boys play. However, one individual who is not present is someone with the expertise to […]
A new app designed for patients planning to undergo knee replacement surgery has been developed by Australia’s leading scientific agency to assist people preparing for and recovering from the experience. The app, designed in collaboration between the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) and Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices, will aim to reduce the […]
Officials at Sheffield-based JRI Orthopaedics Limited are celebrating the first patient in China to receive the company’s Furlong Evolution hip replacement implant. A consultant from one of China’s leading orthopedic hospitals performed the surgery on a 59-year-old man who is now walking unaided. JRI executives believe that this is the first hip implant designed and […]
Obese patients in South Cheshire, England, will be refused hip and knee replacement surgery as part of cost-cutting measures proposed by two cash-strapped Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs). The CCGs will deny the life-changing operations to patients with a body mass index (BMI) above 35, unless there are exceptional circumstances. Chief executive of the local Leighton […]
Traditional beliefs among both patients and physicians about where to best recover from a total knee arthroplasty (TKA)—in the hospital or at home—are challenged by a study conducted in Australia by Justine Naylor, Ph.D., and Andrew Fleischman, M.D. In a comparison of inpatient and home-based rehabilitation programs following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) they found that […]
A recent study of the British National Joint Registry (NJR), the largest joint replacement registry in the world, has found that Black and Asian minorities have fewer joint replacement operations than expected when compared with Whites. Researchers at the University of Bristol studied over 40,000 patient records for England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Isle […]
William L. “Bill” Murphy, M.S., Ph.D., a professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, creates tiny scaffolds made of plastic or rubber on which he grows human stem cells. To grow clusters of human stem cells that mimic organs in the lab and might be used someday in tissue implants, Bill Murphy, […]
A study published in the British Journal of Surgery claims that anxiety and depression make recovery from surgery harder and take longer. The study included 177,000 patients who were experiencing hip and knee replacement, or hernia and varicose vein surgeries over a two year period. According to writer David Di Salvo, the researchers were careful […]
It is happening slowly but surely as scientists are demonstrating they can 3D print tissues or organs and successfully implant them in a living human being. According to Clare Scott, a writer for 3D Print Board.com, it is now possible to 3D print tissue that can survive and grow within animals. Blood vessels have been […]
The Achilles tendon, the strongest tendon in the human body, bears loads as great as ten times the body weight when the subject is jumping. Rainer Burgkart, M.D., senior physician and research director at the Chair of Orthopedics and Sports Orthopedics at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), said of the tendon, “Even though orthopedic […]
Athletes who travel to competitions—and their parents—will breathe a little easier if house bill H.R.302, called The Sports Medicine Licensure Clarity Act, passes the Congress. The bill aims to protect medical professionals who work in sports medicine, people such as doctors, athletic trainers and physical therapists who also travel with high school, college and professional […]
The stem cells in children have the capacity to repair broken bones far more quickly than do those in adults. To figure out why that is and to take advantage of that capability, scientists at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland compared child and adult-derived stem cells in order to understand why children’s cells […]
Here is another reason to quit—after joint replacement surgery smokers are at an increased risk of reoperation because of infection. This was the result of a study published in the February 15 issue of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery and led by senior author Matthew S. Austin, M.D., of the Rothman Institute at […]
In an attempt to keep high school student athletes free from injury the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) is formally recognizing secondary schools that take a series of recommended steps to keep their athletes free from injuries. The Iron County School District in Utah is the first school district in that state to have all […]
Dr. Bailie, the founder and president of the Arizona Institute of Sports, Knees and Shoulders has accepted the position of chief medical officer and chairman of the surgeon advisory board of Integrated Endoscopy.
Most people associate marathons either with the ancient Greeks who ran the first one or perhaps Boston. But there is another run, the Run Across Haiti, a 230 mile trek, that has attracted a small group of runners. Last year only 7 out of 20 runners were able to complete the run. This year 21 […]
The surgeon has control over—or at least knowledge about—his joint replacement patient during his one or two day hospital stay. But who (or what) is monitoring the patient’s condition once he returns home? If Consensus Orthopedics Inc. of El Dorado Hills, California, has its way it will be the firm’s new TracPatch. TracPatch is, in […]
Christian Lattermann, M.D., director for Cartilage Repair and Restoration in the University of Kentucky Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine, has become the first physician in Kentucky and the Midwest to perform a Matrix Associated Chondrocyte Implantation (MACI). The technology for this procedure is the first new, cartilage technology to have been approved by […]
A new technology device that tracks an athlete’s eyes to detect a head injury is being tested in an Atlantic City mixed martial arts competition and also in a boxing championship in Newark later this spring, according to Lindy Washburn, a writer for North Jersey.com. The device, called the EyeGuide Focus, uses a camera to […]
Taxes do make a difference. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce figures from 2012 to 2015, the number of U.S. medtech jobs declined from 401,472 to 372,638. That was a loss of 28,834 or a 7.2% decrease for the time period. This decline took place while the medical device excise tax was in effect. […]
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has named Richard Besser, M.D., ABC News’ chief health and medical editor and former acting head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to be the Johnson Foundation’s next president and CEO. According to Rachel Arndt, writing for Modern Healthcare, Besser will replace Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., who served […]
South Korean researchers from UNIST (Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology) have developed a technique for repairing bone using 3D printed stem cells. A paper, written by 11 of the UNIST researchers and published in the January issue of ACS Nana Journal, explains that 3D printing these stem cells with red-light absorbing carbon nitride […]
Surgeons, after performing hip replacement surgery, typically give their patients a list of precautions—movements to avoid—during their recovery. Typical of these precautions is the advice to avoid bending the hip past 90 degrees, not turning the knee or foot inward or crossing the leg past the middle of the body. Research presented at the February […]
SpineSource, Inc., a Missouri-based supplier of expandable spinal implants, has entered a long term distribution agreement with French spine company Kisco International to market and distribute Kisco’s L-Varlock Expandable Lumbar Cage for vertebral interbody fusion. The agreement covers the United States. Kisco International, which was founded in 1983 in Saint-Priest, France as Biomat, is one […]
Baseball players in Ohio will not be out on their fields for a few weeks but their coaches are busy poring over new pitching rules for the game. Along with other restrictions, the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) has adopted pitch-count standards that will limit pitchers to a maximum of 125 pitches per day. […]
It is not just breakfast cereal that goes “snap, crackle and pop” when milk is poured on it. Joints do as well when tendons and ligaments snap over other tissues and bones. The sounds can also be caused by pockets of nitrogen gas within the fluid that helps lubricate joints and provides nutrition to cartilage, […]
One of the more troublesome parts of the body is the meniscus, the pad of tissue that rests between the thigh and shin bones. The meniscus tears easily both from physical activity and excess weight. And once torn, it does not heal readily. More than one million partial meniscectomies, intended to remove or repair a […]
7D Surgical, winner of the 2015 Spine Technology Award from Orthopedics This Week, has received clearances from both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration—510(k)—and a medical device license from Health Canada that enables the commercial launch in North America of its Machine-vision Image Guided Surgery (MIGS™) system for spine surgery, According to the manufacturer, the […]
The numbers can seem overwhelming. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, approximately one million knee and hip-replacement surgeries are performed each year in the United States alone. The number of hip replacements, per a study presented to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, will increase almost triple over the period from 2005 to […]
UnitedHealthcare Services, Inc. (UHC) has implemented a bundled payment model specifically for hip, spine and knee surgeries called the Spine and Joint Solution. The health plan under this bundled payment model is available to employers around the country and is part of a collaboration with hospitals and post-acute care facilities that have experience with spine […]
Patients, in the past, almost universally reported loving and trusting their doctors. So, what is going on now when 70% of Americans report that they distrust health technology, according to Gienna Shaw, writing for Fierce Healthcare. Patients believe that mobile apps and electronic health records have a high rate of failure when it comes to […]
A hunch he had had for more than 20 years proved to be accurate for Kurt Hegmann, M.D., director of the Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health at the University of Utah. According to Daphine Chan, writing for the Deseret News, Hegmann, for more than 20 years, had noticed that patients with musculoskeletal […]
Donald Trump had been in office only hours when, on January 20, he signed an executive order in a first strike against the Affordable Care Act. According to a writer for Modern Healthcare, the order directs federal agencies to stop issuing regulations that would expand the law’s reach. It directs agencies to grant waivers, exemptions […]
Amplitude Surgical, of Valence, France, the leading French manufacturer of hip and knee implants, with more than 50, 000 implants inserted every year, is now in America. Earlier this year the company received 510(k) regulatory clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Anatomic implant, a device that addresses degenerative knee disorders. […]
The University of Colorado at Boulder has developed a noninvasive way for athletes to measure their muscle energy content. The item is a device that measures muscle glycogen to reveal muscle depletion. Glycogen is a form of energy stored in muscles that is required for optimal athletic performance, according to Denverite writer Chloe Aiello. The […]
Ottobock, a market leader in technical orthopedics, and Myomo, Inc., a manufacturer of myoelectric orthotics, have reached an agreement for Ottobock to exclusively distribute the Myomo patented MyoPro orthosis technology globally, starting with select markets in North America and Germany. The MyoPro is a custom orthosis, based on technology developed at the Massachusetts Institute of […]
James Edward Hanger founded his company, Hanger Inc., a patient care provider and distributor of orthotic, prosthetic and rehabilitative solutions in 1861. For years after the company’s founding, Hanger and members of his staff consistently donated millions of dollars in free care and financial contributions for patients and hardship cases in communities where they lived. […]
Do the “right” clothes make the doctor? Do they affect how patients’ judge their medic’s competence? A study in Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research reports that what they wear influences patients’ opinion of a doctor’s skill and competence. Researchers from Temple University, Philadelphia, surveyed 85 patients at an outpatient orthopedic clinic. They showed the patients […]
Medicare, which spends several billions of dollars a year on knee replacements, is contemplating whether it will help pay for knee replacement surgeries outside the hospital, either in free-standing surgery centers or outpatient facilities. According to Christina Jewett, writing for Kaiser Health News, the issue is sowing deep discord in the medical world, and the […]
What will the human skeleton look like and how will it evolve in the future? Intrigued by that question researchers at Oxford University have created interactive 3D models of human joints that show how, over time, common medical complaints have arisen and how we are likely to change in the future. The researchers made the […]
The long-term health of men who played high school football has been unaffected by that high impact sport according to a recent study by researchers at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. As reported by Dan Gray, writing for Healthline News, playing varsity-level high school football does not carry an increased risk of neurodegenerative diseases compared […]
Dust off the tennis, badminton or squash racket that is hibernating in the closet and put it back into use. Reason? A recent study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that racket sports were the most effective at reducing risk of death. Those sports reduced the risk of death from all causes […]
Forefoot or a midfoot strike? The debate over running styles goes on. Many coaches have held that the midfoot strike—landing on the ball of the foot—is better and creates less force through the body. Now a study by Western Australia’s Curtin University, that used sound and 3D motion technology to measure the impact and load […]
Beware of Dormant Butt Syndrome warns Chris Kolba, Ph.D., PT, CSCS, a physical therapist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. He says to the millions of Americans who suffer from hip, knee or back pain that their butt may be to blame. “The rear end should act as support for the entire body […]
The global market for medical grade ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) is expected to reach 1.36 billion in U.S. dollars by 2024, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The effectiveness of the material in medical implants is due to its superior properties such as high impact strength, low reactivity, and good […]
A knee replacement system, produced by MicroPort Orthopedics, has a human partner and spokesman. He is NFL Hall of Famer, three-time Sports Emmy Award-winner and New York Times bestselling author, Terry Bradshaw. Bradshaw is walking around with a MicroPort Evolution® MP Knee System in his leg that a team at the University of Arkansas for […]
Back pain is the most common reason people go to their doctors. According to the National Institutes of Health, 80% of adults will experience low back pain at some time in their lives. Chronic low back pain, lasting 12 weeks or longer, is believed to affect nearly one-third of the U.S. population. Now a minimally […]
Led by neurostimulators and orthopedic implants, the demand for medical implants overall is expected by analysts who study such matters to reach $116 billion globally by 2022, according to Allied Market Research. Orthopedics, being the largest sector in medicine, also uses the most implants and, according to Allied again, recorded the highest revenue level of […]
An Israeli biotech company, Bonus Biogroup, has created a semi-liquid graft that, when injected into bone to repair bone loss, hardens and turns into bone. As part of an early stage clinical trial, the company successful injected the product into the jaws of 11 patients to repair bone loss. The injected material was grown from […]
The trial involved only ten patients but the hope it engendered encompasses hundreds of times that number. The participants were all individuals with damaged knee joints. Their doctors harvested cells from their noses to use to grow new cartilage tissue and transplant it into their damaged knees. Two years later those patients had developed new […]
Kyocera Medical Corporation, a Japanese manufacturer of implantable systems and advanced ceramic components, has received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s 510(k) clearance for its Initia Total Hip System. U.S. surgeons collaborated with Kyocera to develop the Initia Total Hip System which makes use of the company’s core technology. That technology is BIOCERAM AZUL® zirconia-toughened […]
Richard Laherty, M.D., of Queensland Neurosurgery & Spine Surgery, performed the first viscoelastic Freedom cervical case in Australia this November. He inserted the disc in a 47-year-old male patient who was suffering from degenerative disc disease with radiculopathy, as a result of degenerative cervical discs at levels C5-7. The patient had failed conservative treatments prior […]
JRI Orthopaedics, Ltd, a British healthcare company, has signed an exclusive manufacturing deal with AK Medical, China’s largest domestic orthopedic producer and distributor. As a result of the deal, JRI expects to ship to China a minimum of 10, 000 Chinese designed hip implants over the next five years. Keith Jackson, JRI Orthopaedics chief executive, […]
According to studies conducted by the Sahlgrenska Academy in Molndal, Sweden, patients who have a total knee replacement (TKA) have an elevated risk of both hip fracture and vertebral fracture. Their study, which involved an analysis of medical records from 1987 to 2002, covered the entire Swedish population born between 1902 and 1952. Researchers found […]
Move over hip and knee replacements. Shoulder replacements—the new kids on the block—are gaining on you. The number of total and partial shoulder replacements performed in the U.S. increased from 18, 000 in the year 2000 to more than 45, 000 in 2013 according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). The Loyola University […]
Approximately 310 million patients undergo elective surgery worldwide each year. How do those surgeries turn out? Until now, little data has been collected about the complications that have followed all of those surgeries. A new study from Queen Mary University, London, provides a set of comparative surgical statistics at an international level. The story was […]
Given doctors’ limited time and the lack of formal medical education regarding exercise and patient physical fitness, a growing number of sports medicine physicians, like Robert E. Sallis, M.D., co-director of Kaiser Permanente’s Medical Center in Fontana, California, are urging doctors to make fitness a centerpiece of their patient review. But, how to discuss physical […]
Alexis E. Dixon, M.D., DISC Sports & Spine Center, Marina Del Rey California, defines herself as a woman who is both fashionable and an orthopedic surgeon specializing in foot and ankle injuries. However, she warns women that wearing and walking in fashionably designed shoes can be a risk to their health. She refers to a […]
It may have seemed like a good idea at the time—using low intensity ultrasound (LIPUS) to help heal broken bones. Except that, according to a study led by McMaster University researchers, it did not work. “LIPUS is commonly used in North America to accelerate fracture healing— generating about $250 million in sales a year”—said principal […]
A proof of concept study on the knee joints of mice, conducted by Johns Hopkins University researchers shows that a coating made with antibiotic-releasing nano fibers can prevent serious bacterial infections related to joint replacement surgery. The technology, the researchers say, would have “broad applicability” in the use of orthopedic prostheses, such as hip and […]
Chemists from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, and their collaborators with RCSI (Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland) are celebrating their discovery of new scanning techniques that produce extremely high resolution images of cracks in bones—even cracks at a micro level. The chemists attach luminescent compounds to tiny gold structures to form biologically safe ‘nanoagents’ […]
Two New York state orthopedic clinics, Capital Regional Orthopaedic Associates and the Bone and Joint Center, announced that they have performed their inaugural meniscus replacement procedures. The first surgeries were performed by Drs. Richard Alfred and Maxwell Alley of Capital Regional Orthopaedic Associates. The procedures were part of an investigational trial for Active Implants LLC’s […]
Keith Jackson, the chief executive of Sheffield healthcare company JRI Orthopaedics, has been named the UK’s top Mid-Market company director.
Remember, silk is 75% protein. And now a research team working with the Rural Development Administration (RDA) in Korea has produced a novel bio 3D printing system which uses silk as the raw material for making medical devices. Why not? Silk’s tensile strength is comparable to that of high-grade alloy steel (450 – 2000 MPa). […]
The risk of death after hip fracture is higher for patients treated in small- and medium-sized hospitals than it is in teaching hospitals in Canada, according to a new study published in the CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). There are 30, 000 hip fractures reported in Canada every year, and about 1 of 10 of […]
Here is a story you don’t see every day. Or maybe ever. The healing power of music and dance. In the hospital. The administrators of the Sakra World Hospital in Bengauru, India, decided to ask their joint replacement patients to put on a talent show—post operatively. The purpose was to create an awareness in the […]
CollPlant Ltd, a regenerative medicine company located in Israel, has received the CE Mark for its product Vergenix STR, a plant-based soft tissue repair matrix for the treatment of tendinopathy. CollPlant Chief Executive Officer Yehiel Tal said, “The CE Mark for Vergenix STR denotes an additional and key milestone achieved by CollPlant. In the past […]
For people with a type of jaw joint disorder that results from loss of cartilage, the only treatments available address symptoms but do not repair the damaged tissue. Now, a new study of mice suggests that stem cells already present in the jaw joint could be manipulated to repair it. Columbia University Medical Center in […]
ACL [anterior cruciate ligament] and meniscus tears are, if not serious, certainly painful. And if your patient is a professional athlete, they can mean the loss of whole seasons at a time. There are lots of reasons for injuries and insults to joint cartilage. Age, for sure. But traumas from sports, yard work and occupational […]
What does sex have to do with winning at sports? For decades, athletes have been advised to abstain from sex before an athletic performance. Now that advice is being challenged if not reversed thanks to a new study by Laura Stefani, M.D., an assistant professor of sports medicine at the University of Florence, Italy, and […]
A medical device company based in Altstätten, Switzerland, that spells its name in lower-case type is icotec AG. The company develops and manufactures non-metallic carbon/PEEK composite medical devices under the brand name BlackArmor. Its carbon/PEEK material boosts a 15-year and 20, 000 implantation clinical track record in spinal and fracture surgical care, according to the […]
Naomi Wilde is 101 years old and is, unofficially, the oldest individual in the world to have received a total knee replacement. The title is unofficial because the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons does not maintain a demographic data clearing house for large joint surgeries (although PearlDiver does). But Naomi’s doctor, Gregory Hicken, M.D., of […]
A study based on data derived from 602, 733 osteoarthritis (OA) patients enrolled in the UK’s Health Improvement Network during 2000-2012 suggested that patients who had a knee replacement (KR) for osteoarthritis had a 28% lower risk of mortality compared with non-KR recipients. The participants ranged in age from 50 to 89 and 57% were […]
Amendia, Inc., a manufacturer of medical devices used in spinal surgical procedures, announces the commercial launch of its spondylolisthesis reduction system called the Syzygy Stabilization System. The system is configured to provide immobilization and stabilization of spinal segments as an adjunct to fusion. Physicians also use Syzygy in the treatment of instabilities or deformities of […]
Cartilage is one of the more recalcitrant tissues in the human body. Resistant to repair, oblivious (in the main) to researchers attempt at regeneration, sensitive to trauma and tearing, cartilage failure fuels the onslaught of hip and knee joint replacement surgery. A newcomer is now joining the battle line of cartilage repair. The Food and […]
Campbell Clinic Orthopaedics, of Memphis, Tennessee, an organization that has been active in orthopedic care since 1909, reports that it has been able to accelerate patients’ recovery time and decrease the need for inpatient, long-term medical supervision. “A few orthopaedic centers across the country have begun to offer outpatient joint replacement as a service, ” […]
Integra LifeSciences Corporation of Plainsboro, New Jersey, has successfully completed three first-time procedures using the Integra Cadence Total Ankle System. The surgeries were performed by Thibaut Leemrijse, M.D. of the Foot and Ankle Institute, Parc Léopold Clinic, Brussels, Belgium. Leemrijse and his team are considered leaders in the field of ankle arthroplasty, according to the […]
In a study of 207 patients with carpal tunnel syndrome, researchers in China found that release through double small incisions was minimally invasive, provided good visualization for the surgeon and resulted in a good appearance of the scars when compared with standard open release or endoscopic release procedures. Their study was published in Plastic and […]
Daniel C. Allison, M.D., a board-certified orthopedic surgeon in Los Angeles, is preparing to perform the first bone anchored (osteointegrated) prosthesis surgery to be done in Southern California. The patient had previously had an above-the-knee-amputation. “We are very excited to be the first practice in Southern California to offer the surgery, ” said Allison. “We […]
We’re Number One! From the cost of the MRI to Humira to the all-in cost of a total joint replacement surgery, the United States is a more expensive country than a group of six other industrialized countries in 2014. That is according to a report from the International Federation of Health Plans (IFHP). The U.S. […]
Mike Pont, an 80-year-old retired teacher in Great Britain, who boasts not only two artificial knees but also a new hip joint, did a charity paragliding jump—after losing an eye! Before taking off he wrote to his friends, “As you may know I turned 80 a few months ago and not content with permanently marking […]
Is chemonucleolysis for painful lower back disc herniation returning? In the 1980s chymopapain achieved fairly wide spread use as a chemonucleolysis agent. Outcomes were highly technique and patient selection dependent. It eventually left the market. Now two large firms have inked a deal to bring a new chemonucleolysis approach to market. Will this one work?
Two Oregon surgeons, Richard Edelson, M.D. and Jonathan Greenleaf, M.D., performed the first meniscus replacement procedure as part of the SUN (Safety Using NUsurface) clinical trial. The first case was performed in Oregon on patient Don Bennett’s knee. The surgery was a collaboration between Sports Medicine Oregon and Active Implants, LLC. The Oregon Outpatient Surgery […]
“Race Walkers resemble caffeinated storks, ” suggests writer Gretchen Reynolds in her article about the sport for The New York Times Well section. However, race walkers have the last laugh and bragging rights when they point out that the longest track and field event at the Summer Olympics is the 50 kilometer race walk. That […]
But wait, there’s still more. A new study by a national team of orthopedic surgeons examined the health records of 90.1 million patients in search of reasons for nonunion of fractures. What did they learn? They learned that there was a nonunion rate of 4.93% overall with substantial variation from bone to bone. The lowest […]
A 54-year-old woman who was unable to walk or sit for almost a decade due to osteoarthritis was admitted to Global Hospital and Research Centre, Pune, India, where doctors implanted the Gold Knee-blended transplant with vitamin ePlus poly cover, a type of total knee transplant. According to Aashish Arbat, senior orthopedic surgeon, who performed the […]
Do not try this on patients yet, but it may be that a cheap ingredient used in paint could be of help in repairing broken bones. Scottish scientists have developed a new technique to aid bone regeneration, paving the way for a revised treatment for spinal injuries and bone grafts. The treatment uses a cheap […]
A cone beam 3D imaging system, made by Carestream and used to capture data by means of weight-bearing and other types of extremity exams, has received FDA 510(k) clearance and will now be available for order in the United States. The On Sight 3D Extremity System is based on 20 patents and was five years […]
Western Kentucky University (WKU) at Bowling Green, Kentucky, and Med Center Health have agreed to build a new, $22 million sports medicine complex on its beautiful campus. The roughly 140, 000-square-foot facility will provide space for Med Center Health’s sports medicine program, WKU’s doctor of physical therapy program and an indoor multipurpose training facility for […]
The University of Michigan (U-M) at Ann Arbor has received a $3.9 million grant to strengthen its existing musculoskeletal health program and speed up cross-disciplinary research throughout the university. The grant is from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Known as a P30 grant, it is given to institutions where investigators from different disciplines focus […]
Toe stretching exercises, in which the toes are stretched sidewise, have gained some currency as a treatment for foot pain. Evidence for its usefulness is slight but one study, reported by Laura Johannes for the Wall Street Journal, found that foot stretching when it was done with Yoga Toes, a device from Fen F LLC, […]
The American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR) now has more than 500, 000 primary and revision hip and knee procedures in its system. According to its press release, the registry’s goal is to collect data on 90% of all hip and knee replacement procedures performed in the United States. More than 790 hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers […]
Researchers at the University of New Mexico’s Department of Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation are planning to use 3D printer technology to create low-cost artificial hands and fingers for pediatric patients. Youngsters quickly outgrow their custom-fitted prosthetics. According to Selena Silva, M.D., interim medical director of Carrie Tingley Hospital, a basic claw-type prosthetic hand can cost from […]
Two brothers, Danzhu and Danqing Guo, both M.D.s, have perfected a novel surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome that is quick, (takes about 15 minutes), is outpatient, and almost pain free. The brothers are part of the Bay Care Clinic-Orthopedic in Marinette, Wisconsin. Marinette is about 50 miles north of Green Bay, Wisconsin and abuts the […]
Does participation in student athletics protect young participants from high blood pressure and obesity? According to a recent study published in the Journal of Pediatrics, it does not. Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University found the same rates of obesity and high blood pressure readings in student-athletes as would be expected in the general, non-sports playing […]
Officials of the Beaufort Memorial Hospital, located between Charleston and Savannah, got some disquieting news. They learned that their hospital would be penalized for hospital readmission rates that were higher than the national average from July 2012 through June 2015. The government’s Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program requires Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to […]
Spinal Simplicity, LLC, a medical device company in Overland Park, Kansas, is launching a new generation of its Minuteman G3 fusion device that features an FDA-cleared coating of hydroxyapatite (HA). “HA, also known as a ‘bone mineral’, has been used in orthopedic procedures for the last 30 years because of its successful track record, ” […]
How effective are shoes defined and marketed as being “unloading” in reducing pain from arthritic knees? Not very, according to a study of one brand—the “Gel Melbourne OA” shoe by Asics—that was conducted by Rana Hinman, Ph.D., professor of physiotherapy at the University of Melbourne. The study findings, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, concluded […]
Eight people who spent years paralyzed from spinal cord injuries have regained partial control of their lower limbs as well as some sensation following work with brain-controlled robotics. Five of the participants had been paralyzed for at least five years and two had been paralyzed for more than ten. It took seven months of training […]
What happens to joint replacements after an individual is cremated? Adelaide reporter Brett Williamson reported on how that situation is dealt with in Australia. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare a total of 72, 551 hip and knee replacement operations were performed in Australia in 2013-2014. Following a cremation, Williamson reported, staff […]
The pSivida Corporation and Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, are initiating an investigation into a sustained–release implant to treat severe knee osteoarthritis. According to the August 1, 2016 news release, the implant device is designed to provide long-term pain relief for patients with severe knee osteoarthritis. Physicians will implant the device into the non-articulating […]
First the good news. According to Newswise, a study looking at claims data from more than 630, 000 patients found no differences in post-operative complications or mortality between African American and White patients, who were treated in a universally insured Military Health System (MHS). However, African Americans treated in civilian settings, either uninsured or on […]
BONESUPPORT, a biotech company located in the Ideon Science Park at Lund, Skåne, Sweden has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) study of its product CERAMENT G. According to the manufacturer, CERAMENT G combines the bone healing and bone remodeling properties of CERAMENT with […]
Centric Medical, a division of Life Spine, Inc, has received 510(k) marketing clearance for its Hammertoe Correction System. The device offers a dual threaded design and is inserted between the proximal and middle phalanges, so that the opposing threads fixate on the phalangeal canal of the toe and compress the joint. The current standard of […]
In what officials call a “first” in the United States, doctors at Mather Hospital, Port Jefferson, Long Island, have used robot assisted surgery for a total knee replacement—not a partial or uni. Officials at Mather Hospital say they have been using robot-assisted equipment for about a year, but that now it has started using the […]
DeGen Medical, Inc., a Florence, South Carolina-based medical device company has received FDA clearance for its CONNECT-L™ Transverse Connector to be used with its F1 Modular Pedicle Screw System (MPS). The F1 MPS™ System is intended to provide immobilization and stabilization of the posterior non-cervical spine. The company describes its product as being small, with […]
If bone grafts work in pigs, will people be next? According to Science Daily, researchers from Columbia University, New York, engineered living bone tissue to repair bone loss in the jaws of pigs. The custom implants resulted in integration of the graft into the recipient pig’s own tissue. Researchers chose pigs on which to test […]
Are referral patterns biased? According to a study published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, minorities are less likely to have knee replacement (TKR) surgery and, when they do have it, they are more likely to experience complications. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) funded the study. Researchers examined four outcome […]
Steve Bateman, senior lecturer and sport therapy course leader at Staffordshire University, U.K. says that most running injuries are of a chronic nature. Because many runners hit the streets with little thought to the design of their running they end up suffering from aching bodies and inefficient training. Bateman says that the most common injuries […]
The use of a peripheral nerve block in foot and ankle surgery is associated with postoperative complications of around 7.2%. That complication rate is considered very low, according to a study recently presented at the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society Annual Meeting in Toronto, Canada. Casey Tongle, writer for Healio Orthopaedics Today, quoted presenter […]
A study published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery reveals that 15% of women over the age of 50 fall and fracture a wrist. A broken wrist is bad enough, but the wrist fracture is like a cannery in a coal mine. It signals the presence of balance problems and the possibility of […]
Orthopedic surgeons, who earn a median annual salary of $555, 000, top the list of the highest paid among 23 medical specialties, according to Joseph Conn, writing for Modern Healthcare, which recently completed its 23rd annual Physician Compensation Survey covering 6, 500 healthcare organizations and almost 346, 000 physicians. The sums listed for salaries are […]
A mixture of titanium and gold turns out to be the hardest known metallic substance that is compatible with living tissues, according to Helen Briggs, writing for the BBC News. This is potentially very good news for makers of hip and knee implants—which often must be replaced after a decade of use because of wear […]
Toned, smoothly functioning muscles are the tools and weapons of professional sports. The Kansas City Royals, in a move to focus more attention and care on its players muscles, has formed a partnership with MuscleSound to improve the performance of its players and reduce the risk of injury to muscles. Based in Denver, Colorado, MuscleSound […]
The jump is a big one. From 2007 to 2014, the number of concussions experienced by youth ages 6 to 24 jumped by 60%. Researchers at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center analyzed health records of more than 8.8 million members of a large private payer insurance group to gather their data. Alan […]
It pays to exercise, literally. A 30 year study out of Finland uncovered this fascinating correlation. The Finnish study reported in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, the official journal of the American College of Sports Medicine, found that children who participate regularly in physical activity earn higher earnings when they start working in […]
Using embryonic stem cells, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have mapped out the signals that direct the cells to create populations of bone, heart muscle and cartilage cells in a short period of days rather than the weeks or months presently required. The research marks a key step in creating cartilage or […]
A study of 602, 733 osteoarthritis patients enrolled in the U.K.’s Health Improvement Network from 2000 to 2012 died at a 28% lower rate than non-knee replacement (KR) recipients. The protective effect on mortality emerged only in those patients older than 63, according to contributing writer Diana Swift in MedPage Today which first released the […]
Todd Loveday is a baseball pitching coach who advises parents to become better informed about pitch counts and required limitations on how many balls a young pitcher can pitch without running a big risk of injury. Loveday said, “If more parents were aware of the risks, they would police the tournament coaches who care more […]
Six months after experiencing a concussion, young athletes still had changes in the white matter of their brains according to a study at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, according to the press release from the American Academy of Neurology. The researchers found that high school and college age athletes who experienced a concussion […]
Scientists in Scotland have discovered that they can grow new bone just by vibrating it. As reported by The Telegraph Science Editor Sarah Knapton, stem cells can be coaxed into turning into bone cells—known as osteoblasts—by using low frequency vibrations in the lab. This technique is known as “nanokicking.” The vibrations used are very slight. […]
The news was not good for those looking for a way to repair cartilage. An article in the journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science informed its readers that research using radiocarbon dating suggests that joint cartilage cannot renew. Researchers used radiocarbon dating as a forensic tool to find that human cartilage […]
Frequent professional teeth cleaning reduces the risk of infection following knee replacement surgery, according to Donna Domino, features editor of DrBicuspid.com. She reported on a study in Taiwan in which researchers analyzed 1, 291 patients who were older than 40 and had undergone a total knee arthroplasty (TKA) between 1999 and 2002. These patients had […]
Does running bring on osteoarthritis of the knee as runners age? It is easy to assume that is the case as every runner knows a fellow runner who had to quit running because of knee pain. Researchers from hospitals across the U.S. also assumed that “a history of leisure running may increase the risk for […]
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in New Delhi, India, report that they have developed a material made of polymer nanocomposite (a polymer having nanoparticles) that can be used in bone implants. “Age takes a toll on people’s bone health leading to diseases like osteoarthritis, osteonecrosis and rheumatoid arthritis. Rapid advancement in technology […]
If you need a new pain to be concerned about, consider “selfie elbow” which is becoming a real medical condition, according to NBC’s Today show host Hoda Kotb. She went to a doctor complaining of pain in her elbow and he made the diagnosis. It was not tennis elbow but selfie elbow, he told her. […]
In a major piece published on the internet written by Hallie Levine, Consumer Reports urges patients contemplating knee replacement surgery to be very careful in choosing the hospital where they have the surgery done. Doris Peter, Ph.D., director of the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center advised, “Your chances of developing an infection after knee replacement […]
The question “what is gender” is not a simple one to answer—at least it is not for the officials of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Athletes competing at the Olympics must be separated into men’s and women’s events. The IOC has to have a generally accepted method to sort the women from the men since […]
EOS imaging is a company based in Paris, France, with five subsidiaries located in Besancon, France, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Montréal, Canada, Frankfurt, Germany and Singapore. The firm designs, develops and markets a medical imaging system called EOS Systems designed for the treatment of osteoarticular pathologies and orthopedics. The company is authorized to market in 51 countries, […]
In a study of 144 patients with primary knee osteoarthritis (OA), researchers at the University of Alexandria, Egypt, found that methotrexate was a therapeutic option for the treatment of pain and inflammation. From the endpoint of pain, analog scores decreased significantly with methotrexate from 66.7 mm to 40.5 mm at 28 weeks, according to Diana […]
For years runners have debated the merits of what they wore on their feet. Some recommended running barefoot. Others argued that shoes’ spongy soles helped runners cope with the rough concrete of roads and trails. Others believed that the running shoes were somehow amplifying the body’s natural spring-like steps. A new study, conducted by researchers […]
A line of expandable interbody fusion devices, made by Spinal Elements, Inc., has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This clearance includes devices for posterior, anterior, and lateral access to the lumbar spine. The expandable devices are placed in the intervertebral space of the spine at a collapsed height and expanded […]
The hazards to players of football and other contact sports, such as hockey, come not just from external blows to the head—partially mediated by a helmet—but from blows of less velocity that cause the brain to bounce back and forth within the skull. “Brain slosh” is what happens when the brain, which is loose in […]
The last time the Hawks won a championship was in1958—in St. Louis. The Hawks have never won a championship for Atlanta—their home since 1968. It’s been a very long, dry run. Last year the Hawks won the Southeast Division title of the NBA’s Eastern Conference. The team is working its way up the standings. And […]
Researchers at the University of Bristol School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine have developed a stem cell bio-ink that can produce 3D printed cartilage and bone implants. The new stem cell ink contains two different polymers. One is a natural polymer extracted from seaweed. The second is a synthetic polymer that causes the ink to […]
Bone Biologics Corporation, a company focused on regenerative medicine, has signed an option agreement with the University of California, Los Angeles, to exclusively license the use of the bone growth factor Nell-1 for the treatment of osteoporosis. Osteoporosis, the severe loss of bone mass, is currently treated with drugs that inhibit the osteoclasts. Nell-1, according […]
Amendia, Inc., located in Marietta, Georgia, is a provider of spinal technologies, has launched its latest product, the Ceres C Stand-alone Cervical Interbody. The device is a PEEK interbody spacer combined with a titanium plate and screws. It is designed for anterior cervical interbody fusions in skeletally mature patients with degenerative disc disease with accompanying […]
Doctors implanted an estimated 5.2 million total knees from 2000 to 2010, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics. The rate of knee replacement went up, in that time period, by 86% for men and 99% for women. The mean age of patients having a knee replacement was […]
The first technology that optimizes the orientation of a patient’s acetabular component by utilizing a laser guided Patient Specific Instrument platform has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Called the Optimized Positioning System (OPS), the system has been in use in Europe and Australia since its acquisition by Corin Group […]
The surgery took place weeks ago. The pain from it is gone. So why are 53% of knee replacement patients and 35% of hip replacement patients still taking opioid painkillers? Some are still taking them six months following their surgery. New research has found that many patients continue to take opioids months after hip or […]
Surgeons at Rush University, Chicago, Illinois, are among the first to implant the Porous PEEK COHERE Cervical Fusion Device made by Vertera Spine. Frank Phillips, M.D., a professor at Rush University, was one of the first surgeons to use COHERE in a cervical fusion surgery. “I think the porosity of the COHERE PEEK interbody device […]
There is good news for recipients of new knees—they may not have to wait two weeks following their surgery before taking a shower. A study, led by Harold Rees, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Illinois, found no differences in bacterial swabs taken from those who waited two weeks to […]
Same day hip joint replacement has become a common procedure in the United States, but Chris Walker, a 71-year-old retired electrician, was the first person in the United Kingdom to have hip replacement surgery in a day. Walker was back home ten hours following his operation at Castle Hill Hospital, Hull, which is experimenting with […]
The United States is seriously underestimating the number of pediatric concussions, according to research conducted by The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Researchers found that among 0 to 17 year olds who have a CHOP primary care physician, 82% had their first concussion visit at a primary care site, 12% at the emergency department, 5% […]
Knee arthroscopy surgeons, perhaps unwittingly, participated in opioid creep with their patients in the years from 2004 to 2012. In a study published online by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Hannah Wunsch, M.D., M.Sc., of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, and colleagues assessed trends in the amount of hydrocodone/acetaminophen and oxycodone/acetaminophen prescribed […]
You have to hand it to Dubai. Already recognized as a modern and ambitious nation, it is now embarking on what backers are saying will be the biggest 3D printing adoption program in the world. Dubai plans to become the 3D capitol of the world by 2030. Leading the campaign and chairing the committee in […]
According to The New York Times, about 3% of women and 2% of men will be diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome during their lifetime. Typists, musicians, meat packers and people who assemble airplanes are among the most likely to develop the problem The Times writer reported, as are people who use their hands and wrists […]
Hold the opioids if you do not want to experience revision surgery. Maria C.S. Inacio, Ph.D, of the University of South Australia, Adelaide, and colleagues in a retrospective cohort study found that older patients who were still taking opioids 3 months after a total hip arthroplasty (THA) were more likely to need revision surgery at […]
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted 510(k) clearance to Bone Index Ltd.’s Bindex point of care instrument to diagnoses osteoporosis. Bone Index was founded in 2011 in Kuopio, Finland, and specializes in the development of measuring devices for osteoporosis screening and diagnosis. Bone Index’s CEO, Ossi Riekkinen, M.D. said, “Bindex technology is […]
MediBid, Inc. is a start-up company that allows patients to describe the procedure they want done and put it out for doctors to bid on. “Our mission is to give better quality health care at a better price with more choice and more access, ” says Ralph Weber, a Katy, Texas, businessman and CEO of […]
A new study published in The Journal of Foot and Ankle Surgery, “Dual-Component Intramedullary Implant Versus Kirchner Wire for Proximal Interphalangeal Joint Fusion: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial, ” compared using the Nextra implant to K-wires. Nextra crushed K-wires in terms of fusion rates. The study, which was a randomized treatment group vs control group […]
Lateral ankle sprains are common. Occasionally, however, conservative treatment fails. In those cases chronic instability can develop and the best alternative for the patient becomes stabilization surgery. The surgeon is faced with several surgical procedures and, as described in the literature, those that most closely reproduce normal ankle lateral ligament anatomy and kinematics have been […]
Dignity Health Saint Francis Memorial Hospital of San Francisco, California, which has been providing healthcare in the Bay Area for more than 100 years, announced that it is now offering hospital-based, same-day hip replacement surgery. According to PR Newswire, patients are able to go home within 13 hours of hip replacement surgery. Nicholas Mast, M.D., […]
Bone Therapeutics SA’s ALLOB is a bone-forming cell therapy product used for the treatment of orthopedic conditions and bone diseases. It is being evaluated in three Phase I and II clinical trials for delayed-union fractures, spinal fusion and the revision of failed spinal fusions. ALLOB has received orphan drug designation from the European Medicines Agency […]
Greg Paul, a 61-year-old mountain climber from Alpine, Utah, with two total knee replacements, made it to the summit of Mount Everest on May 13. He was a member of the group of climbers who were the first to reach the summit since May 2013. He is also the first known climber of Everest to […]
Self-regulation is the key to losing weight according to a three-year study of young adults led by Rena Wing, Ph.D., director of the Weight Control & Diabetes Research Center at The Miriam Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island. The coordinating center for the trial was Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. The study was published online in […]
Baseball, which once featured the boys of summer, has now become a year round sport. It is not just Little League any more. Now it is travel teams and indoor sports facilities that allow for constant practice. This lengthy season of baseball may be fine for most of the players but it is not good […]
An invented-in-Australia device, called the Oska Pulse, is making its debut from its San Diego, California, base with the claim that it is the first of its kind of wearable, pain-relief devices designed for individuals suffering from chronic pain. The manufacturer, Oska Wellness, describes the device as a being a small, portable device that safely […]
The electronic content of implantable orthopedic devices is likely to grow significantly over the next decade. Could these so-called smart implants benefit from a dissolvable implantable electronic resistor? Research funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China has developed a functional […]
Question: Which is better for total knee arthroplasty (TKA) patients—kinematic alignment or mechanical alignment techniques? According to Casey Tingle, writing for Helio Orthopaedcs Today, researchers found that there was no difference when they looked at 2-year functional outcomes of either kinematic alignment or mechanical alignment techniques during implantation. Simon W. Young, M.D., FRACS of the […]
A collaboration of three leading foot and ankle surgeons and Plainsboro, New Jersey-based Integra LifeSciences Holding Corporation has produced the Cadence Total Ankle System which, in the words of one of the surgeons, “will make total ankle replacement easier, quicker and more reproducible for foot and ankle surgeons.” The three world renowned doctors are Tim […]
A device that uses a unique resonant technology to deliver thousands of low-magnitude and high-frequency micro-impacts through the heels of the feet safely stimulates the body’s muscles and bones to rebuild. Users stand on the Juvent Regenerative Technologies Corporation platform for as little as 10 minutes per day and many begin to feel joint pain […]
Lattice Biologics Ltd, of Scottsdale, Arizona, is preparing to launch three new products—all featuring the company’s Matrix-Assisted Regeneration (MAR) technology. The three products are Amniotic Tissue Matrix, Demineralized Cortical Fiber, and Viable Cell Allografts. Richard D Guyer, M.D., of the Texas Back Institute and a Lattice Biologics Scientific Advisory Board Member, said, “The ability to […]
Patients appear to dislike filling out long questionnaires about their experience with joint replacement surgery. Surgeons, who wanted feedback from patients, worried that the problem lay in the fact that the surveys were very long, “Our surgeons were worried that patients were not completely filling them out, ” said Stephen Lyman, director of the Hospital […]
SpinalCyte, LLC, a Texas-based tissue engineering technology company, has received final results for its Phase II animal trials using human dermal fibroblast (HDFs) transplantation for intervertebral disc degeneration. SpinalCyte executives believe this research could lead to an innovative solution to the problem of spinal nucleus replacement. The final report builds on previous findings of significant […]
As one who enjoys watching NFL football on television (and therefore shares culpability with other fans) I am reporting on a study of 40 former NFL football players who underwent diffusion MRI scans to check for mental impairment. Francis Conidi, M.D., D.O., head of the Florida Center for Headache and Sports Neurology in Port St. […]
In the United States, 426 hospital administrators are hanging a new award plaque on their office walls. The reason? Their institution has received the 2015 Women’s Choice Award as one of the best hospitals in the country for orthopedics. To see this list of 32 hospitals, click here. Winners of the award for Best Hospital […]
Safe Orthopaedics, a company founded in 2010 in Paris, France, develops and markets a range of sterile implants and associated single-use surgical instruments. The company has received approval from the Australian regulatory authorities for its SteriSpine devices and has entered into a distribution agreement with SSJ Health that covers Australia and New Zealand. SSJ Health […]
The sample was small but the results of the study encouraging to sufferers with knee pain. Participants in a study of 30 patients who received a series of three weekly injections of autologous conditioned plasma (ACP) experienced a 78% improvement in their knee pain at 12 months. Patients in the control group, who were injected […]
In a study that covered the entire Swedish population born between 1902 and 1952 (64 to 114 years old, this year), researchers found that individuals who had had a total knee replacement (TKR) had a 4% increased risk of hip fracture and a 19% increased risk for vertebral fracture. This was compared to the population […]
Anticipating carpal tunnel surgery? If so, consider what Gerson Florez, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon at Monongahela Valley Hospital, Pennsylvania, is advocating. He calls it “wide awake surgery” and he recommends the use of a local anesthetic for almost all surgery on the hand. As Observer-Reporter staff writer Natalie Reid Miller explained, to be eligible for […]
Does hip or knee arthroplasty increase a patient’s risk of a later heart attack? Replies to that question have been all over the map in the past decade. Now a study published in Arthritis & Rheumatology, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), indicates that the long-term risk of experiencing a heart attack […]
Which patients are more likely to be readmitted to the hospital following hip replacement surgery? A study reported on by Irvin Jackson—a writer for About Lawsuits.com—and published in the journal AMA Surgery found that hip complications more frequently occur among older patients and those who are dealing with other health problems. The study principals examined […]
The Atlanta Hawks and Emory University have formed a training and sports medicine center which will be the first paring of a professional team and an academic medical center’s sports medicine program. Andy Miller of the Newnan Times Herald writes that the Hawks will gain a state-of-the-art training center for basketball players and Emory will […]
Smoking has always been problematic but evidence from a British study reveals that smoking can be more deadly for patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The study was conducted by Deborah P.M. Symmons, M.D., and her colleagues from the Manchester Musculoskeletal Biomedical Research Unit and published in Arthritis Care & Research. They found in their […]
Researchers at the University of New South Wales, report that stem cell therapy may soon repair human spinal damage much like salamanders regrow their limbs. They claim to have developed a method for turning fat and bone cells into any other cell and their method could be subjected to human trials as early as next […]
The Geisinger Orthopaedic Institute, Division of Sports Medicine, has designated Bloomsburg University (BU) of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Concussion Research and Service as its standard of care to assist in determining when a student athlete who is diagnosed with a concussion can safely return to the playing field. Geisinger Sports Medicine physicians will rely on BU […]
Individuals suffering from osteoarthritis (OA) have almost twice the risk of losing time at work due to their illness as those who do not have OA. They are also three times as likely to become unemployed. Osteoarthritis is the fastest growing cause of disability worldwide, according to a study by researchers from the University of […]
The city of Quingyuan, China, has discovered marathon running—with somewhat mixed results. Thousands of runners were injured while running a recent marathon in Quingyuan, a city of 3.7 million people in south China’s Guangdong province. According to the local press, medical workers performed first aid on participants more than 12, 000 times, treating 10, 000 […]
The use of peripheral nerve blocks (PNBs) is associated with better medical outcomes in patients who are having hip and knee replacement surgery, according to a recent study. PNBs involve injecting medication around specific nerves that supply the areas of surgery and their use reduces pain and the need for pain medications such as opioids. […]
Older patients who were still taking opioids (morphine equivalents) three months after having received a total hip arthroplasty (THA) were more likely to need revision surgery at one year and five years than did those who stopped their opioid use after 90 days. That is the result of a study conducted by Maria C.S. Inacio, […]
Every 13 seconds, an older adult is treated in the emergency room for a fall. Every 20 minutes, an older adult dies from a fall-related trauma. Responding to this data, staff at Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering conducted a survey on falls among the elderly. They discovered that Americans are very worried about elderly […]
Jenni Buckley, Ph.D. is co-founder of the Perry Initiative and assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Delaware (UD).
ORS presented the award based on the poster “Biomechanics of Pedicle Screw Loosening in the Lumbar Spine.”
Individuals trying to keep fit and, hopefully, lose some weight depend on walking as a major component of their exercise program. So it is discouraging for them to learn that the leading standardized equations that are currently used to track the calories burned while walking are relatively flawed. These equations, which, according to Rhodi Lee, […]
Australian scientists have developed a new method for harvesting stem cells, which, they claim, is less invasive and reduces side effects for donors. Stem cells are routinely harvested from healthy donors and used to treat patients suffering from a variety of cancers including leukemia. The current method for harvesting these stem cells takes a long […]
A company called AliveCor, Inc. has produced a band for an Apple Watch that captures an EKG. The EKG is analyzed by a machine to detect trial fibrillation, a common cause of cardiac arrhythmia and a major cause of stroke. The firm is awaiting a 510(k) clearance from the FDA before launching the product commercially. […]
Blood loss and the need for a blood transfusion are major concerns in joint replacement surgery. But a new use for an old drug is proving effective in reducing blood loss and transfusion rates, according to a study at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS). The drug, tranexamic acid, or TXA, has been used for decades […]
A 10-year-old Connecticut boy, named Dan, came home from a visit to his grandparents with a limp. No one thought much about it until Dan began to experience pain. Then a visit to an urgent care facility and an X-ray revealed that he had an osteosarcoma—a cancer—that was destroying the bone above his knee. Dan’s […]
The study was small, with only five participants. Nevertheless, executives of Nutramax Laboratories Consumer Care, Inc., were pleased when their six-week open label study found that Cosamin ASU was effective in reducing concentrations of serum and urine biomarkers associated with joint discomfort and cartilage breakdown. Cosamin ASU is the company’s advanced joint health formulation which […]
What are the reasons for hospital readmission following hip and knee joint replacement surgeries? To find out a group of physicians in Canada examined a national database of more than 58, 000 hip and knee replacement surgeries and published their results in The Journal of Arthroplasty. According to Brad Tritle, writing in Vitaphone Health Solutions, […]
Kenneth Zaslav, M.D., of Advanced Orthopaedics, Richmond, Virginia, performed the first meniscus replacement procedure in the state. Advanced Orthopaedics is one of ten sites nationwide that are participating in the Active Implants LLC’s VENUS (Verification of the Effectiveness of the NUsurface® System) trial. The trial is enrolling patients with persistent knee pain caused by injured […]
A group of researchers has taken bio-printing to a new level. They have found a way to 3D bioprint thick vascularized tissue constructs composed of human stem cells, extracellular matrix, and circulatory channels lined with endothelial blood vessel cells. The resulting network of vasculature can channel fluids, nutrients and cell growth factors, for the first […]
Hold the opioids. Two new studies have revealed that decreased opioid use prior to joint replacement surgery has been linked with improved patient satisfaction and outcomes. Patients who followed the reduced protocol experienced fewer complications and reduced their need for post-surgical opioids. As reported in the publication CanIndia News, in the first study, researchers reviewed […]
Want to save the U.S healthcare system from $2.5 to $4 billion a year by 2030? Then schedule all patients for knee replacement surgery to high-volume hospitals. A study conducted at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City found that patients experienced lower complication rates and better outcomes in hospitals that do a […]
Health City, a hospital in Grand Cayman, has opened an office in Hamilton, Ontario, to lure Canadians on waiting lists for—among other surgeries—hip and knee joint replacements. According to the Ontario Ministry of Health, the average wait time for hip replacement surgery is almost 200 days from when a surgeon orders the operation for patients […]
Hospital stays for patients recovering from joint replacement surgery have been growing shorter and shorter with some surgeons sending hip replacement patients home on the same day as their surgery. Has the shortened stay had an impact, for good or ill on readmission rates? According to Susan Rapp, writing for Healio Orthopaedics Today, “the first […]
Keep those patients warm. A Henry Ford Hospital study, reported by EurekAlert!, finds that hypothermia, an unintentional occurrence during surgery, is associated with an increased risk of infection in patients who undergo surgery to repair a hip fracture. Hypothermia is defined as a core body temperature less than 96.8 degrees Fahrenheit. This can take place […]
Will bundled payments do for the costs of joint and hip replacement surgeries what Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) wants them to do? According to the results from a three-year pilot study conducted by New York University’s Langone Medical Center, they will and they do. Last year CMS put together a bundled payment […]
Silicon Valley startup Vital Connect has come up with a disposable Band-Aid sized patch that records and reports on a wide array of vital medical conditions. As reported by Stacy Lawrence, writing for Fierce Medical Devices, this adhesive sensor lasts for up to four days and can be used on patients in a hospital or […]
Amedica Corporation, a company that commercializes silicon nitride ceramics as a biomaterial platform, has agreed to collaborate with Celling Biosciences, a firm active in autologous cellular therapy technologies. The goal of the collaboration is to research and develop biologically enhanced implants. Research by Celling Biosciences’ scientists indicated that mesenchymal stem cells can be optimized and […]
The definition of “empathy” in my tattered copy of Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Fifth Edition, is “Projection of one’s own consciousness onto another being.” Now a study conducted by a cluster of orthopedists in Boston has revealed that patient-perceived physician empathy is a key factor in patient satisfaction. Patient satisfaction has become a major issue in […]
Technology startups are finding new ways to detect concussions in both pro and amateur athletes. Their mode of attack is to measure and monitor the eyes and then collect and analyze the data with apps (for tablets and other smart devices) and strategically placed sensors. Adam Gross, CEO of Bethesda, Maryland-based startup RightEye, notes that […]
Maybe not elephants distracting, but cell phones can be dangerous when you (yes, you) are bumping into other people while looking at your phone or obliviously walking down a crowded street. These are all problems that cell phone users readily admit to. But, they insist, they themselves are not guilty. Other people have these problems. […]
Maurice Cates, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon with Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group, along with the writer for Northern Virginia Magazine, Ryan Basen, makes the case for getting joint replacement surgery cases back to their homes within 24 hours. Cates recalls two decades ago when such patients stayed in the hospital for 11 days and, he writes, […]
A study from the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City suggests that bariatric surgery prior to total knee replacement (TKR) may be a cost-effective option. A research team led by Alexander McLawhorn, M.D., MBA, compared the cost-effectiveness of two treatment protocols for two groups of patients who were morbidly obese. All had a […]
When a surgeon is faced with a novel situation, a problem for which he does not have a doable answer, what device is he most apt to turn to for a solution? If you guessed a 3D printer, you were correct. Ralph Mobbs, M.D., a neurosurgeon at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney, Australia, […]
Tyber Medical, LLC, a privately held medical device company located in Morristown, New Jersey, announces that research ongoing at Northeastern University, Chicago, demonstrate a statistically significant reduction in bacteria on implant surfaces processed with the firm’s BioTy, a Modified Surface Treatment. The research performed at Thomas J. Webster, Ph.D.’s Nanomedicine Lab at Northeastern University establishes […]
The Resorbable Orthopaedic Products subsidiary (ROP) of Wound Management Technologies has received FDA 510 (k) clearance for its product HemaQuell Resorbable Bone Wax. HemaQuell is a water soluble material that is used as a tamponade to control bleeding from bone surfaces. It will be delivered in an applicator that will allow surgeons to apply the […]
Carestream Health, of Rochester, New York, announces that it has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Alibaba Health to create a Medical Image Management Cloud Platform in China that will support the reading and sharing of clinical images. The Platform will provide access to telehealth services for CT, MR, X-ray, sonograms, echocardiograms (ECGs), dermatology and […]
John J. Leddy, M.D., clinical professor of orthopedics at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York, is conducting a study on concussions that may dramatically alter the standard of care for acute concussion. Leddy said, “Until recently, the standard of care in concussion has […]
Early diversification in sports is more likely to lead to success than is specialization according to a study presented at a Sports Science Institute convention in Johannesburg, South Africa. Presenters pointed out that most elite athletes who perform at the Olympic level played more than one sport in their developmental years and specialized only from […]
A total hip replacement is usually a successful procedure, restoring mobility and reducing pain. More than 300, 000 such surgeries are performed every year in the U.S. according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Less successful have been some of the surgeries on younger patients as the artificial hip has a limited lifetime […]
Z-Medica, LLC, a developer and marketer of hemostatic devices, has received an expanded CE Mark for its QuikClot products in the European Union (EU). The expanded indication includes the use of the company’s kaolin-based hemostatic products for traumatic bleeding used in conjunction with anti-coagulant therapy. The indications for use in the EU are now the […]
A study published in the journal Cell Metabolism reports that researchers have successfully reprogrammed living bone cells to treat large non-healing bone factures. They do this by enhancing the cells capacity to regenerate even in a harmful environment. According to researchers, the human body can repair bone fractures by itself in most cases. However, the […]
It pays to do it face to face. A study conducted at the Hospital for Special Surgery found that joint replacement patients benefited from a one-on-one education session provided by a physical therapist. The patients were more satisfied with their pre-surgery education and felt better prepared to leave the hospital after joint replacement, compared to […]
To get its data systems back and working the Los Angeles hospital hit by hackers for ransom has paid them off to the tune of about $17, 000, according to Katie Dvorak, writing for FierceHealth IT. The hospital attacked is Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center. It’s CEO, Allen Stefanek, said in a statement that, “The quickest […]
More than seven million Americans are living with an artificial hip or knee joint and the number is increasing, according to a report published online by Newswire. Because the recipients of those joints are living longer and maintaining active lifestyles, they are creating the need for long-lasting joint replacements. Newswire reports that in 2011 doctors […]
Active Implants LLC, a privately held company in Memphis, Tennessee, that develops orthopedic implant solutions, is initiating a second clinical trial to evaluate a meniscus implant called NUsurface. According to the news release, NUsurface is made from medical grade plastic and does not require fixation to bone or soft tissue. Company officials claim that the […]
As women prepare to assume more combat posts in the military, the Department of Defense is working to reduce the female injury rate which one study shows is 2.5 times greater than it is for men. A new clinical study is beginning at Wake Forest University in Winston Salem, North Carolina, that will study the […]
According to a report in the journal Nature Biotechnology, bioengineers have succeeded in developing a 3D tissue organ printer that can fabricate stable, human sized bones, muscle and cartilage using stem cells and polymer templates. Anthony Atala, M.D., of Wake Forest School of Medicine in North Carolina, told Reuters Health that he and his colleagues […]
A computer hacker demanded ransom before shutting down the electronic health record and email access at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center for more than a week according to Susan B. Hall, writing for Fierce Health IT. Hall writes that the cyber criminals infected a system with malicious software and locked up files while they demand ransom […]
Running remains one of our most popular sports. It is accessible and reasonably safe for almost everyone. Yet Gretchen Reynolds, writing about running for The New York Times, claims that studies estimate that “90 percent of runners miss training time every year due to injury.” What causes the injuries? To answer that question researchers have […]
When I was in high school in the late1940s and 50s all of us girls wore at least one copper bracelet. A good marketer had convinced us that copper, worn next to the skin, conveyed mysterious benefits to our health and well-being. Everyone I knew wore a copper bracelet convinced it would help ward off […]
The HUS Medical Imaging Center, located in the Helsinki University Central Hospital, Finland, is teaming up with the Carestream OnSight 3D Extremity System to conduct the first European clinical test study of its cone beam scanner and image reconstruction technology. Helsinki University Central Hospital serves a population of 1.5 million people and includes the largest […]
Sentara Halifax Regional Hospital, located in South Boston, has implemented a most atypical program for its joint replacement patients. The program is based on a national best practice model and is structured around the fundamental principle of wellness. The program starts with the assumption that these patients are not sick. “This is not your typical […]
A study by Calin Moucha, M.D., published in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, recommends a team-based approach to pain management for patients getting a total knee replacement. Moucha wrote that, “managing post-surgical pain is key to promoting early postoperative mobility, reducing medication side effects, and increasing patient satisfaction.” Traditional pain management […]
If one bone-repairing protein does not work as you want it to—pair it with another. That is what researchers at UCLA did with the bone morphogenetic protein BMP2—an FDA approved bone healing protein. Unfortunately, the high doses of BMP2 that were required to induce human bone formation also caused swelling and inconsistent and inappropriate bone […]
CollPlant, Ltd., a regenerative medicine company located in Israel, reported positive final clinical study results for its product Vergenex STR as a treatment for tendinopathy. The trial was a prospective, open label, single arm trial, conducted at three leading Israeli hospitals—Meir Medical Center, Assaf Harofeh Medical Center and Hadassah Hospital. Vergenix STR, is a blend […]
BioArchitects USA has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the company’s 3-D printed patient specific titanium cranial/craniofacial plate implant. The implant is designed for the repair of defects in the non-load hearing bones of the head and face. Each custom designed plate is permanently attached to the skull and/or face […]
Which is better—running out of doors or on an indoor treadmill? Enthusiasts for running out of doors claim it uses up more energy. The main reason for this, according to running experts, is wind resistance, which a runner does not get a lot of when he is running inside in a gym. However, fans of […]
CTL Medical Corporation, a Dallas, Texas-based medical device manufacturing and service company, has signed an agreement to acquire AccelSPINE, a medical device designer and manufacturer headquartered in Dallas. The acquisition went into effect January 25, 2016. Daniel Chon founded both of them. AccelSPINE is a privately held company that was established in October 2010 by […]
Scientists working at the University of the West of England have discovered a new way to get titanium implants to bond with bones. This is significant, they report, because successful implant surgery is dependent on this bonding process. The implant must integrate into the patient’s skeleton. According to a writer for HealthCanal, scientists coat the […]
What should a marathon runner do to help his (or her) body recover from the experience? Sitting down for a long rest is not the answer. Farah Teipar, M.D., sport medicine specialist at Cleveland Clinic Florida, in Weston, told Miami Herald writer Crystal Chew, “Research shows that muscle, cellular and immune systems are compromised for […]
Japan’s Kyoto University and Panasonic Corporation have joined forces to develop a sensing technology that will remotely detect heart rate and heartbeat intervals without any sensor on the patient’s body. The system is based on radar and is reported by Stacy Lawrence, writing for Fierce Medical Devices. Researchers believe the technology could monitor patients at […]
According to a Mayo Clinic study, 4.7 million Americans have undergone total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and 2.5 million have had total hip arthroplasty (THA). This has all happened since 1969 when the Mayo Clinic performed the first total hip replacement done in the U.S., followed by the first knee replacement in 1971. “These numbers underscore […]
First there was Dolly, the sheep. Now researchers at Umea University in Sweden have successfully used cartilage cells from cow knee joints to grow cartilage in the laboratory. They are not there yet, but using primary bovine chondrocytes, (cartilage cells from cows) they have improved methods to grow cartilage tissue in a laboratory environment. The […]
Fans of the Green Bay Packers football team, which includes most of the population of Wisconsin, were cheered to learn that Packers left tackle David Bakhtiari, who injured five ligaments in his ankle, is not anticipating surgery. According to sportswriter and Packer’s blogger, Tom Silverstein, Bakhtiari missed three games and was not 100% recovered when […]
Samsung Electronics, the Korean-based world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, has set early 2016 as the date for the marketing of a new chip. The chip is called the Bio-Processor and it is designed to go into wearables. This is no ordinary chip. Besides being tiny, it has the ability to oversee bioelectrical impedance analysis, […]
According to the Boston Globe and Fierce writer Zack Budryk, surgeons in Massachusetts may soon have to document when they enter or leave the operating room during a surgery. The Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine has approved the rule, but before it can take effect it must have the approval of several state agencies. […]
Gosselies, Belgium-based Bone Therapeutics SA has expanded its Phase I/IIA delayed union clinical trial to include multifocal delayed union bone fractures. The treatment features ALLOB, the company’s allogeneic bone cell therapy product. The addition to the original study has been approved by authorities in Belgium and Germany, according to Bone Therapeutics officials. ALLOB is an […]
Scientists at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor have developed a polymer sphere that can deliver a molecule to cells at a bone wound site and tell the cells to begin repairing the injury. Lead researcher Peter X. Ma, MS, Ph.D., professor of dentistry, said that it is typically very difficult for microRNA to […]
Runners who have low arches, flat feet, or whose feet tend to roll inward should consider getting shoes with motion control, according to a study conducted by the Luxembourg Institute of Health. Researchers had randomly assigned 386 recreational runners between the ages of 18 and 65 to wear either normal running shoes or the same […]
The government of Ireland is the first ever to launch a National Physical Activity Plan for its citizens. The goal of the plan is to increase the number of people taking regular exercise by 1% a year over ten years. Officials hope to accomplish this objective by making exercise a normal part of everyday life […]
There’s a new kid on the block. RepResponse opened officially with the New Year to focus on a remedy for the lack of communication that often exists between medical product and service providers and their healthcare facility customers. Dan Lieffort and his partner, both former orthopedic medical device representatives, had seen the computers plastered with […]
The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and four other medical organizations released a team physician consensus statement that outlines best practices for injury and illness prevention for athletes at all levels of expertise. The statement, published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise and Current Sports […]
The most widely used stimulant in the world is probably caffeine. The American College of Sports Medicine reports that moderate doses of caffeine increase athletes’ performance. The Olympics do not ban caffeine but student athletes may be disqualified by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) if their urine contains more than 15 mcg/mi of caffeine. […]
Another popular belief is dashed. A study in Switzerland—published online in JAMA Internal Medicine—has found that higher doses of vitamin D were no more effective than lower doses in improving lower leg functioning. They were even associated with a higher risk of falls. What’s an elderly person to do? Researchers divided 200 participants, ages 70 […]
How often are kids between the ages of 5 ands 18 treated in emergency rooms for sports-related injuries? A study conducted by Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis found that between 2001 and 2013, there were 485, 514 injuries reported by 100 emergency departments, which amounts to about 16, 000, 000 sports-related injuries among […]
Bonesupport, a company in Lund, Sweden, announces the results of two studies that confirm the efficacy of the firms CERAMENT™|G antibiotic eluting bone substitute technology. The material is used in the management of osteomyelitis (OM) in infected diabetic feet. According to Bonesupport officials CERAMENT™|G, which releases Gentamicin, is the first approved antibiotic eluting bone substitute […]
The idea of bundling payments for joint replacement has come a long way since a few innovative practices, such as Twin City Orthopaedics, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, initiated the process in the upper Midwest region. After submitting several draft rules, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a final rule governing payment for […]
Hoverboards are a hazard. When Asif Ilyas’s (M.D., FACS) children told him about them he did not know what they were talking about. But when he went to work at the Orthopaedic Trauma Service at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia where he was on call Christmas night he soon learned. Ilyas is a trauma […]
The number of patients using remote health monitoring devices doubled in 2015 to 4.9 million due to “rising market acceptance” according to Katie Dvorak, writing for Fierce Health IT. This number does not include individuals who use these tools for tracking their own personal health but does include patients who are part of a health […]
When a study demolishes a century-old belief about how fractured bones heal, it is labeled a “breakthrough.” That is what researchers at Vanderbilt University have achieved in their discovery that fibrin is not essential to bone healing—as everyone once thought. It turns out that it is the breakdown and clearance of fibrin that is essential […]
Approximately 30% of people age 65 or older fall at least once a year, turning falls into a major public health issue. In 2013, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that direct medical costs for falls in the U.S. totaled $34 billion. Fall injuries are among the 20 most expensive medical conditions and […]
Amedica Corporation, a Salt Lake City company that commercializes silicon nitride ceramics as a biomaterial platform, has signed a private label supply agreement with a firm in the People’s Republic of China. The company is BoTEC Medical, a subsidiary of WinnTi Medical Group. Amedica will supply BoTEC Medical with proprietary silicon nitride spinal interbody fusion […]
VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc., a company out of San Francisco committed to developing medicines to treat disorders of the central nervous system, has secured exclusive worldwide commercial rights to three patent-pending stem cell technologies from University Health Network (UHN), Canada’s largest research hospital. The technologies were developed by Gordon Keller, M.D., Director of UHN’s McEwen Centre […]
Orthopedists, or at least some of them, are hoping that the movie “Concussion” will command the attention of parents of young football players. The movie tells the story of the Nigerian-born forensic pathologist, Bennett Omalu, M.D., who discovered that blows to the head, if continued over time, can cause long-term bad effects for players of […]
Sam Barnes, a retired orthopedic surgeon from Tennessee, who broke his ankle several years ago, recently had a complete ankle replacement installed. The night before the surgery he attended a run-through of the procedure on a cadaver with his surgeon James McKinney, M.D., who wanted a test run before operating on his colleague. Besides the […]
Hip and knee replacements for patients with osteoarthritis (OA) cost roughly $13.7 billion every year in the United States, according to estimates by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Another $28.5 billion is spent on additional hospital expenditures for care of patients with arthritis in their knees or hips. But that is not the […]
Orthopedic surgeon Daniel Kalbac, director of the Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Center (OSMC) of Miami, Florida, saw a need and moved to fill it. He opened an after-hours urgent care center to diagnose and treat sports related injuries. Injured athletes can now bypass urgent care centers or hospital ERs and go directly to a sports […]
Doctors and hospitals in Syracuse, New York, are looking north, to Canada, hoping to lure Canadians who are weary of waiting months for joint replacement surgeries and other procedures. The present wait time for a hip, knee or shoulder replacement is 39.4 weeks in Ontario, according to a report by the Fraser Institute, a Canadian […]
A three-year medical study conducted in collaboration with Singapore General Hospital and the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, found that treatment with Tenex Health’s TX System provided sustained relief from pain as well as functional improvement in patents’ suffering from tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis). Percutaneous tenotomy using the Tenex Health TX System is a minimally invasive […]
There are marked racial differences in the utilization of total knee replacement (TKR) surgery on the part of white and African-American patients. Using Medicare claims data, a study reported on by writer Bill Schu and published in Arthritis Research & Therapy, estimated that the annual rate of TKR was 4.84 per 1, 000 among African-American […]
The most important factor associated with an increased risk of revision following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is smoking, according to Pam Harrison, writing for MedPage Today. Though being a male was also associated with a higher risk of revision, older age was not. Benedict Nwachukwu, M.D, of the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York […]
Kaiser Permanente, one of the largest health systems in the world with $56.4 billion in operating revenues, 9.6 million health plan members, 177, 445 employees, 17, 791 physicians, 49, 778 nurses, 38 medical centers, and 620 medical offices, announced that it plans to open a non-traditional medical school. Kaiser’s plans are to redesign physician education […]
The FDA has granted 510k clearance to the Dyneema Purity Radiopaque Cerclage Cable made by DSM Biomedical. The cable is used by surgeons to treat bone and spine fractures. The cerclage cable is made out of Dyneema Purity Radiopaque fiber which, claims the manufacturer, is the only radiopaque ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene medical fiber in the world. […]
BONESUPPORT of Lund, Sweden, a manufacturer of injectable bone substitutes for orthopedic trauma, bone infections and instrument augmentation related to orthopedic surgery, reports that, in a pilot study, its Cerament has proven effective in the management of benign bone tumors. The December issue of Biomed Central Musculoskeletal Disorders published the results. Company officials point out […]
Pain in the hip means a patient has osteoarthritis. Right? Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine say “Not so fast.” According to Caitlyn Fitzpatrick, writing for MD Magazine, in the Farmington Study of 946 patients ages 49 to 79 only 15.6% of patients with frequent hip pain had radiographic signs of osteoarthritis. And only […]
Does the type of wound covering used in joint replacement surgery significantly affect the outcome? According to a study of 262 patients who were randomized to receive either ConvaTec, Inc.’s AQUACEL Ag SURGICAL Cover Dressing or a standard gauze surgical dressing, following knee or hip replacement surgery, it does. The trial, conducted at the OrthoCarolina […]
Researchers at the University at Buffalo are studying how a program of low level exercise—instead of total rest—may be a more effective treatment for concussions. They predict that the standard of care for acute concussion may undergo a dramatic change, depending on the results of a new exercise treatment that physicians at the Jacobs School […]
Scientists and spine surgeons from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia have invented a new spinal fusion device that stabilizes the spine, reduces chronic back pain and promotes fusion without screws or rods. Called the Thru-Fuze device, its inventors hope that it can someday replace more invasive and expensive methods of treating […]
Physicians at Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush (MOR) are recruiting patients with rotator cuff injuries to participate in a clinical trial using stem cell injections. Surgeons involved in the study include: Brian Cole, M.D. Anthony Romeo, M.D., and Nikhil Verma, M.D. To participate, patients must be between 18 and 70 years of age, willing to undergo […]
Researchers at Queen Mary University of London believe they have found new weapons with which to attack arthritis. They are microvesicles, tiny fluid-filled bubbles that are made by the body’s own cells. It turns out that the thick fluid that bathes the joints of arthritis sufferers is rich in microvesicles that appear to be battling […]
Three orthopedic surgeons at the Christ Hospital Health Network spent their Saturday, December 5, providing free hip and knee replacements to low income patients who did not have health insurance. According to the Northern Kentucky Tribune, their work was sponsored by Operation Walk USA. The surgeons were Patrick Kirk M.D., Edward V. A. Lim, M.D. […]
Surgeons who give their knee replacement patients a periarticular injection rather than a femoral nerve block find that their patients require less physical therapy and less time in the hospital to recover. A doctor performs a nerve block, which temporally disrupts a patient’s muscle control, by inserting a needle near the hip joint to deliver […]
Amr Abdelgawad, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, El Paso, Texas, has invented a novel implantation device that can lengthen the bones of young people internally and with significantly less trauma and morbidity. “Current limb-lengthening techniques are uncomfortable and can make kids feel socially awkward, ” explained Abdelgawad. The standard […]
What happens to the cartilage of ultra long distance runners during a race? It appears, according to a study conducted during the 2009 Trans Europe Foot Race and presented at the November 30, 2015 Radiology (RSNA) conference in Chicago, that cartilage regenerates itself during the race. Using a mobile MRI truck a team of researchers […]
According to a newly published meta-analysis of obesity and carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), they chalk up another problem caused by being overweight. The meta-analysis was performed on 58 studies of 1, 379, 372 individuals. Researchers reported that the risk of CTS is 7.4% with each unit increase of body mass index. The study, which is […]
A recent retrospective study has shown that the loss of 10% of body weight by obese patients slows the degeneration of their knee cartilage. As reported by Kristina Fiore, staff writer for MedPage Today, those who lost the most weight had the greatest reduction in the rate of cartilage damage. Fiore quoted Alexander Gersing, M.D. […]
Is there a relationship between the type of anesthesia used to perform a joint replacement surgery and the incidence of surgical site infections (SSI)? According to a new study titled “The Impact of Anesthetic Management on Surgical Site Infections in Patients Undergoing Total Knee or Total Hip Arthroplasty” published in the November 15, 2015 issue […]
A new study from AARP (formerly the American Association for Retired Persons) raises troubling questions about Medicare’s Hip/Knee Replacement data. Medicare recently reported that readmission rates for hip/knee replacement patients were falling—specifically that readmission rate within 30 days after hip replacement in 2009 was 42 per 1, 000 patients. By 2013, those rates had fallen […]
Australian surgeon has implanted his country’s first 3D-printed vertebral spinal cage. The surgery took place in the back of patient Amanda Gorvin whose lumbar vertebra has an unusual shape. Marc Coughlan, M.D., of the North Gosford and Prince of Wales Hospitals performed the surgery. The abnormal structure of her fifth lumbar vertebra and severe degeneration […]
The physicians and staff of the University of Virginia (UVA) Medical Center Department of Orthopaedic Surgery are celebrating. Their department of orthopedic surgery has been named among the 100 hospitals in the United States with great orthopedic programs. The award is given by the 2015 Becker’s Hospital Review. Bobby Chhabra, M.D., chair of UVA’s Department […]
Knee and hip joint replacements are good for pain relief, improved mobility and quality of life but they may not be so good for the heart. Researchers in Boston have found that patients who had total knee or hip joint replacement surgery were at a slightly increased risk of having a heart attack during the […]
India’s first stem cell drug, called Stempeucel, is expected by its supplier to be on the market by the end of this year. Stempeucel is made from stem cells in the bone marrow and is manufactured by Stempeutics Research, a firm owned, in part, by Cipla Ltd. The drug is intended to treat Buerger’s Disease, […]
Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City is one of ten sites nationwide that are participating in a clinical trial of Active Implants LLC’s device, the VENUS implant for injured or deteriorating meniscus cartilage. The acronym VENUS stands for Verification of the Effectiveness of the NUsurface System. Once damaged, the meniscus has a limited ability […]
Interventional Spine, Inc, a privately held company based in Irvine, California, reports the receipt of FDA clearance of their next generation expandable interbody fusion device called Opticage. Company officials say that the new Opticage features an improved ability to deliver graft material through the implant after expansion, has a new streamlined profile and improved ergonomics. […]
Dr. Daniel Ivankovich has been named one of CNN’s ten “Heroes of the Year” as a result of his work treating patients in some of the most violent neighborhoods of Chicago.
Researchers at the University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Medicine are on to something significant. They have found a way to get mesenchymal stem cells to become not the customary fat cells but osteoblasts—bone cells. The researchers used cytochalasin D, a naturally occurring substance found in mold, to alter gene expression in the nuclei […]
Bone Therapeutics’ allogeneic bone cell therapy product called ALLOB has received Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) as well as from the U.S. Food and Drug administration(FDA), The product is used in the treatment of the genetic bone disorder osteogenesis imperfecta—more commonly known as brittle bone disease. The press release states:“Osteogenesis […]
Here is one of the best ideas we’ve seen in a long time. We all know that communication between a physician and his patient is critical. That 20-minute conversation between a surgeon and his patient, at the end of an examination, is often the most important and problematic part of the visit to a doctor. […]
Surgeons have successfully used spinal anesthesia for total hip replacements since the 1940s, according to Javad Parvizi, M.D., FRCS and Mohammad R. Rasouli, M.D., writing in the journal Annals of Translational Medicine. Javad Parvizi is vice chairman of research and professor of orthopaedics at The Rothman Institute of Orthopedics, Thomas Jefferson University, in Philadelphia. Mohammad […]
After 50 or 60 years of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and with more than 670, 000 knee replacements being performed annually it kind of boggles the mind that no one thought to do this earlier. But, here it is, finally. The study was published online in the New England Journal of Medicine on October 22, […]
HealthStream, Inc. a research firm that conducts government required Consumer Assessments of Healthcare Providers, has awarded HaysMed Hospital, located in Hays, Kansas, its Excellence Through Insight Award. The unit specific award recognizes the Bone, Joint and Spine Center in the hospital. The award also recognizes and includes staff from the HaysMed Orthopedic Institute. HaysMed received […]
In a rare surgery performed in Jaipur, India, a 65-year-old man was successfully transplanted with a “golden” knee implant at a private hospital. The patient was suffering from acute osteoarthritis. Routine implants are made of cobalt, chromium and nickel, which in certain patients can cause infection or allergy. Doctors replaced Munish Joshi’s knee with an […]
ECA Medical Instruments, the industry leader in single-procedure torque-limiting instruments and surgical fixation kits—with an ECA torque instrument in use every 20 seconds of every day—has successfully performed the first Revolution Spine System lumbar implant from Intelligent Implant Systems, LLC (IIS) of Charlotte, North Carolina. ECA’s custom disposable instrument kit was used to perform the […]
The next big thing for runners may be here—or almost here. It will have arrived for certain when adidas brings out its 3D printed custom insole for running shoes. The insole is the crucial part of the shoe that fits the bottom of the arch and supports the foot. “Runners are just going to love […]
A Chinese biotechnological company announced it has developed the world’s first 3D blood vessel bio-printer which, it claims, makes it possible to produce personalized functional organs. Sichuan Revotek Co., Ltd. based in Chengdu, capital of southwest China’s Sichuan Province, said the significant breakthrough has been achieved through its self-developed stem cell bio-ink technology, a 3D […]
Patients who are black, Hispanic, on Medicaid or are uninsured may be less likely to receive regional anesthesia during hip and knee replacement surgery, according to a study of more than 1 million orthopedic surgeries being presented at the Anesthesiology 2015 annual meeting. This possibly places these patents at a greater risk of serious complications. […]
Timothy Bassett, M.D., of Northport Medical Center in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, performed the first EVOS-HA surgery in the United States on October 21, 2015 for an L4-L5 revision of a failed titanium cage and a non-union in addition to a L5-S1 TLIF. The EVOS-HA, made by Cutting Edge Spine of Waxhaw, North Carolina, is the first […]
Scientists at Stanford University are working to develop an artificial skin for prosthetics that can detect pressure and send signals to brain cells. According to Emily Wasserman, writing for Fierce Medical Devices, Zhenan Bao, Ph.D. and her team of engineers have created a skin-like material that consists of two layers. The elastic top layer holds […]
The U.S. Patent Office has issued a patent to Regenexx Corporation which teaches new compositions and methods of promoting the implantation and engraftment of stem cells. The foundation for this new patent is the fact that tissue repair in vivo depends on acute inflammation, but in many clinical situations the other major components of healing […]
Bloomington-based HealthPartners, a health insurer and owner and operator of clinics and hospitals in Minnesota, is planning to build a large orthopedic clinic in Woodbury, Minnesota. Called the Tria Orthopaedic Center, it will be a 75, 000 square feet space in a three story medical building. Total cost is expected by HealthPartners to be around […]
Vertera Spine has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration 510(k) clearance for a uniquely osteoconductive and porous PEEK Cervical Interbody Fusion Device called simply COHERE. The implant’s proprietary surface technology is porous and is based on Zeniva PEEK resin from Solvay Specialty Polymers. Several PEEK implants with porous or rough metal coatings are in use […]
The most important factor associated with a risk of revision following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is smoking, according to Pam Harrison, a contributing writer for MedPage Today. Benedict Nwachukwu, M.D., of the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, and colleagues in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders reported that smoking was associated with a nearly threefold […]
Three years ago Michael Bavlsik, M.D. suffered a crushed spine in a highway collision. The injury left him paralyzed but he did retain some movement in his arms. That fact, according to Durrie Bouscaren, writing for St. Louis Public Radio, made Bavlsik a candidate for nerve-transfer surgery. At Barnes Jewish Hospital, Ida Fox, M.D., a […]
A bold new clinical trial will begin in January when doctors inject stem cells into fetuses in an attempt to ease the symptoms of osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease). The study will look at whether the stem cells, which are able to transform into a range of tissues, will moderate or cure the disease. About […]
An orthopedic hospital in Coimbatore, India, has introduced a knee implant that the hospital claims is designed specifically for the Asian anatomy and life style. The development of the implant was an outgrowth of a knowledge exchange program in the field of knee replacement with the hospital and Adam Cote, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon from […]
Jimmie Andrews, America’s pre-eminent sports doc, put pen to paper to speak truth about the #1 source of injuries to America’s children. Football. Yes, football is one of the most popular sports played by young athletes—but it is also the most dangerous game. In 2007 nearly one million children (920, 000 to be exact) under […]
The conventional treatment for broken bones involves the use of metal pins and screws to hold the injured bones together until they can heal. Now researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have invented a putty that can be used in a 3D printer to better repair broken and fractured bones without the use of metal […]
Santa needs to lose the weight and the pipe. New rules from the Welsh government say that if a patient who is obese and/or a smoker and is scheduled for orthopedic surgery in Wales, they must lose weight and stop smoking before surgery. The move is an attempt to curb the rise in orthopedic referrals […]
Thanks to a grant of $6 million from the Department of Defense researchers led by scientists at Houston Methodist are studying two new materials to repair complex fractures in long bones. Major injuries to long bones usually require multiple surgeries and the placement of metal screws, plates and rods. Now Mauro Ferrari, Ph.D., president & […]
Let’s hear it for vitamin D. A small but significant study in Sao Paulo, Brazil, found that taking 1, 000 IU of vitamin D 3 times per day over 9 months strengthened muscle mass in postmenopausal women who were at risk of falling, according to Parker Brown, staff writer for MedPage Today. Researchers in Sao […]
After an 11-year absence it is back to Cuba for Operation Walk, a Los Angelss based nonprofit that provides hip sand knee replacements in developing countries. For 20 years, Operation Walk provided total hip and knee replacement surgeries for free. Since 2004, politics made it impossible for the charitable organization to help Cubans. Now, according […]
Medical practices continue to face new and novel challenges. To provide assistance and an infusion of new ideas, the American Medical Association (AMA) and the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) joined together to sponsor a competition of ideas for medical practice improvement. The competition is called the Practice Innovation Challenge. At its meeting in Nashville, […]
A new study from Athena Health and distributed by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation reviewed data from 20, 000 physicians in the United States and found that physicians whose practices were based in states that haven’t expanded Medicaid were receiving higher rates of pay than those in states that did expand the entitlement program. The […]
Another reason to quit or not to start. Smoking is associated with a threefold risk of revision after knee replacement. Smoking is THE most important factor associated with an increased risk of revision following total knee arthroplasty (TKA), according to MedPage contributing writer, Pam Harrison. A study conducted at the Hospital for Special Surgery in […]
Priority Health of Grand Rapids, Michigan, a health insurer, is giving its patrons a cash incentive to shop around for medical procedures. Awards range from $50 to $200 for choosing a less expensive option on 300 common health procedures. According to Karen Bauffard of the Detroit News, selecting a less-costly knee replacement surgery, hysterectomy or […]
Here is a puzzler. Blood transfusion rates in patients having hip and knee replacement surgery are dramatically lower in overweight and obese patients than they are in patients of normal weight. That is the result of a study of 2, 399 patients at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. Of the 2, 399 patients […]
Cartiva, Inc. has enrolled its first patient in a study of the company’s ProxiFuse Hammertoe Compression System. ProxiFuse was designed for the fixation of osteotomies and reconstruction of the lesser toes following correction procedures for hammertoe, claw toe and mallet toe. John Maskill, M.D., of Orthopaedic Associates of Michigan at the Metro Health/OAM Surgery Center […]
The march toward single-day joint replacement surgery goes on. The biggest impediment to patients returning to their homes following hip or knee replacement surgery, according to many surgeons, is pain and its management. According to Suzanne Laurent, writing for news @seacoast, Thomas King, M.D. of the Knee, Hip and Shoulder Center in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, […]
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted 510(k) clearance to Conventus Orthopaedics, Inc. for its Conventus Orthopaedics Cage PR (Proximal Radius) System—number three in the series. According to the press release, the system is designed to be a means of addressing fractures of the head and neck. As explained in the press release, the […]
Cartiva, Inc., a firm in Alpharetta, Georgia, has treated its first patient in a study of the safety and effectiveness of Cartiva’s Synthetic Cartilage Implant (SCI). It is used in the treatment of first carpometacarpal (CMC) joint osteoarthritis at the base of the thumb. The surgery was part of a study, led by principal investigator […]
Patients with psoriatic arthritis undergoing total hip arthroplasty will find encouragement in a study that found they face no greater risk of poor outcomes than do patients who have the surgery because of osteoarthritis. Andrew Smith, writing in the publication MD, reported on what was a complicated study. Researchers began by comparing results for 63 […]
Approximately a year and a half after his last knee surgery in early 2014 the Democratic governor of Missouri and Missouri politics fixture, 59-year-old Jay Nixon, has had both knees replaced. Gov. Nixon, a second-term governor who had served four terms as attorney general, is an avid basketball player and at one time played against […]
The number of joint replacement surgeries carried out annually on obese patients in the United Kingdom has increased four-fold since 2009, according to a report in the Irish Daily Mail. Since 2009, the number of joint-replacement operations performed annually on patients classified as obese has risen by more than 18, 000. Hip replacements alone now […]
Graftys, S.A., a company founded in 2005 and based in the university town of Aix-En-Provence, France, has a line of innovative biomaterials has received authorization to commercialize two new cements to treat bone marrow lesions caused by traumatic injury. The new cements are brandnamed Graftys HBS and Graftys Quickset. Both, say the company, are injectable […]
Honor Whitman, a reporter for Medical News Today, writes that a young paralyzed man has become the first person to regain what she reported to be “a near natural sense of touch” through a robotic hand that was connected directly into his brain. Wires connected the robotic hand to electrodes that had been implanted into […]
Do not worry about a surgeon performing surgery following a night of interrupted sleep. He (or she) will do just fine, according to a study conducted of 40, 000 patients published in the New England Journal of Medicine the researchers, who came from Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto and from the University of Toronto analyzed […]
Bone Therapeutics, a bone cell therapy company based in Brussels and Paris, has completed treatment without any safety concerns of the second cohort of patients in the ALLOB Phase I/IIA trial for patients with delayed-union fractures. The safety committee ruled unanimously that the trial can proceed as planned and can continue to enroll patients. The […]
When Canada’s St. Michael’s hospital began using an inexpensive drug called tranexamic acid, or TXA, it reduced the number of red blood cell transfusions performed at joint replacement surgeries by 40%. No patients were negatively affected. TXA prevents excessive blood loss during surgeries. Beginning in October 2013, St. Michael’s anesthesiologists started giving TXA to every […]
Amit Lahav, M. D. of Orthopedic Health in Milford, Connecticut, is making his own knee replacements through 3-D printing. He told Nicole Nalepa, a reporter for Eye Witness News, that he tells his patients about the 3-D printed joint, “The knee is made to fit you. We do not have to fit a knee to […]
What factors are driving the joint replacement business? The annual market for knee implants is roughly $4 billion in the U.S., according to Bloomberg analyst Jason McGorman. John Tozzi, a Bloomberg writer, notes that Americans are getting older and heavier—which means trouble for the knees of the country. Tozzi writes that the rate of total […]
What are the numbers and what is the cost to a hospital of retained surgical items (RSIs) during a total joint arthroplasty? And how many of these “never events” take place in a year? A study by Bryce Van Doren, a graduate research assistant at the OrthoCarolina Research Institute, Charlotte, North Carolina, as well as […]
Six years ago the boom in barefoot running started. Runners debated which was best—running barefooted or shod. Alex Hutchinson reports on a study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine that compares the rates of injury of runners running with and without running shoes. Allison Altman-Singles, M.D., at Penn State and Irene Davis, M.D., of […]
Have osteoarthritis (OA) and planning joint replacement surgery? Pay attention to your heart. A handful of studies have found that people with osteoarthritis who have joint replacement surgery are at risk for a heart attack in the month following the procedure. The study found that the risk went on over time but patients remained at […]
In what may be good news for back pain sufferers resulting from its clinical trial of ReActiv8, Mainstay Medical International plc reports lasting improvement in pain, disability and quality of life for people with chronic low back pain (CLBP). Between 63% and 72% of the participants in the study reported clinically important improvement in their […]
Go easy with the dental floss. A Minnesota woman flossed so energetically, and forcefully that her gums bled and she passed a serious infection to the five year old joint replacement in her knee. According to Ala Dababneh, M.D., at the Mayo Clinic, where the patient was treated, the woman sought help when her right […]
The 500, 000 member and $45 billion Colorado Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) is offering retirees in the pre-Medicare program a new hip and knee replacement benefit option called PERA Care Select. For most pre-Medicare retirees enrolled in an Anthem plan, there will be no out-of-pocket cost or co-pays associated with either of these procedures, […]
Two doctors used dehydrated amniotic tissue to heal an otherwise nonhealing surgical knee wound. The doctors are Neil Riodan, Ph.D. and orthopedic surgeon Wade McKenna, D.O. According to PR Rocket;, which reported the story, the tissue used was AlphaPatch, developed by Amniotic Therapies of Dallas, Texas. The patient was a 78-year-old man, who had a […]
People suffering from osteoarthritis experience more pain in their knees when they also have insomnia, according to a study conducted at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Researchers found that people suffering from both painful knee osteoarthritis and insomnia were more likely to experience a nervous system disorder called “central sensitization, ” an ailment that […]
Officials of Conventus Orthopaedics, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, are celebrating the first surgeries in the U.S. and Europe that utilize their PH Cage for proximal humeral fractures. The company reports that these surgeries represent the first alternative to traditional treatment options for shoulder fractures. The company’s cage system, which takes advantage of the shape memory properties […]
Xtant Medical Holdings Inc., a company in Belgrade, Montana, whose subsidiary, Bacterin International, Inc. makes regenerative medicine products has received FDA 510(k) clearance for its OsteoSelect PLUS. The product is a demineralized bone matrix, comprised of OsteoSelect Putty but with the demineralized cortical chips. Adding cortical chips to OsteoSelect putty eliminates the need to mix […]
A newt is a common sort of lizard. But it can do something that we humans can not do. If a newt loses a limb, it can regenerate tissue to repair the loss. According to David Garner York, writing for Health and Medicine, a newt’s cells respond to injury by aggregating and returning to a […]
The money spent on worldwide medical tourism is expected to reach $5 billion by 2016, according to a writer for News 24, with much of that remaining in India. The writer called India the “next crown prince shaping the future of the healthcare industry.” More than 27 million tourists from the United States, Canada and […]
A Yorkshire, United Kingdom, healthcare company has marked its 45th year in business by breaking into the Chinese market. JRI Orthopaedics Ltd has won a contract to produce hip replacement implants in its Sheffield manufacturing facility for a Beijing-based medical company to sell into the Chinese market. Keith Jackson, managing partner, said, “We are now […]
Theragen LLC, a privately owned medical device company located in Leesburg, Virginia, has acquired Neurotech North America, a manufacturer of non-invasive stimulation products used in orthopedics and for spine applications. The purchase includes commercial rights to Neurotech assets throughout the world including in Japan, Korea, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Prior to its sale to Theragen, […]
Pity the poor medical device manufacturer. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sets them on a longer road to device approval than it does the makers of blockbuster drugs. According to Fink Densford, reporting on a recent Harvard Business School study, new medical devices on average take 34% longer to get approval from the FDA […]
Tyber Medical, LLC, a private labeler Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), of Morristown, New Jersey, received 510(k) clearance from the FDA for its TyWedge Opening Osteotomy Wedge System. The item is a titanium plasma sprayed PEEK wedge implant specifically indicated for fusion. According t the company’s press release, the TyWedge system features the radiolucent properties of […]
Which patients are at risk for complications following hip or knee replacement surgery? Two studies at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine have identified ways to identify candidates who are at risk for complications following replacement surgery. “There is a need to better identify and predict post-operative complications so we can intervene and […]
Richard P. Holm, M.D., reminded readers of the Rapid City Journal that prior to the development of a surgical repair for hip fracture, treatment involved six weeks of traction and bed rest. The death rate was 80% from blood clots or pneumonia. Doctors pinned bones together with ivory pins until a German doctor, during World […]
CyMedica Orthopedics, Inc., has received a CE mark for its QB1 Muscle Activation System. The system received clearance from the U.S. FDA in April 2015. “Securing the CE Mark for the QB1 System marks an important milestone for our company, greatly expanding our market opportunity to patients in Europe and paving the way for a […]
A privately held Canadian biotechnology company, Ortho Regenerative Technologies Inc. (Ortho RTI), has entered into an agreement with Gestion Univalor, L.P. and Polytechnique, Montréal, to acquire a platform technology for the repair and regeneration of damaged joints, including knees and shoulders. This platform uses formulations designed to transform from a freeze-dried polymer into therapeutic micro […]
Potential good news for football players comes from researchers at Harvard Medical School who have found a link between head trauma and the development of the degenerative brain condition called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The finding leads to the hope that players who might develop CTE can be identified and helped before cognitive issues arise. […]
Can freezing the body—making it very, very cold for a short period of time—promote healing? It may not be surprising that Minneapolis, Minnesota, where enthusiasts jump into lakes through holes in the ice, is the home of a trend called: “whole-body cryotherapy.” Though the treatment has advocates, Ben Bartenstein, a writer for Pioneer Press Health […]
Researchers at Australia’s Curtin University are developing smart phone apps to detect pain in patients who cannot speak. According to Tony Malkovic, writing for Fierce Medical Devices, the app developers are using facial recognition technology and plan to produce two apps. One is for elderly people with dementia who find it hard to communicate accurately […]
Is same day total hip surgery due for a renaissance? Philip Minotti, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon with Connecticut Orthopaedic Specialists, thinks so and believes that it can change the face of hip surgery. One of Minotti’s patients, Karen Klarman-Williams, 55, received her new hip in the morning, slept in her own bed at home that […]
Researchers hoping to find ways to regenerate cartilage worn away in aging knees and hips, have for more than two decades looked to stem cells to be the agent to regrow cartilage. Regrettably, the results, to date, have been inconsistent. Now comes a report from Samsung Medical Center, Sung Kyun Kwan University in Seoul, Korea, […]
Chinese orthopedic surgeons, among the boldest and most inventive orthopods in the world, have used 3D printing to straighten a young patient’s severely bent legs and, at the same time, performed double knee replacement surgery on him. Doctors admitted the patient to the hospital with genu varum deformity (also called bow-leggedness, bandiness, bandy-leg, and tibia […]
Ken Broder, writing for AllGov.com, quotes a Mother Jones blogger who wrote, “Is there any other significant area of life where it’s virtually impossible to find out how much something will cost before you decide to buy?” He was writing, of course about medical procedures. The recently released third annual “Report Card on State Price […]
Mesoblast’s groundbreaking study of using stem cells to treat degenerative disc disease has just enrolled the first patient in the third phase of this FDA approved study. In Phase 2, patients not only tolerated the stem cells well, but also experienced statistically significant and durable pain reduction and functional improvement. This is a tremendously important study.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved a removable, non-invasive gastric balloon to treat obesity. The balloon, which is intended to mimic for the patient feelings of fullness, is “swallowed” in a 30 minute procedure. The ReShape Integrated Dual Balloon System (ReShape Dual Balloon) is for obese adult patients. The device likely works by occupying […]
Imagine “going to sleep with chronic joint pain, waking up with no pain and walking out of the hospital on the same day, ” wrote Anaka Ucheghu for the Pittsburg Post Gazette. She was writing about a program at West Penn Hospital of the Allegheny Health Network Ucheghu quoted Nick Sotereanos, M.D., the orthopedic surgeon […]
Bones heal faster when treated with a component of marijuana, according to a study at Tel-Aviv University in Israel. The helpful ingredient is cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychotropic component of the marijuana plant. Results of the study are published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. The results of the study were not a surprise. […]
The Food and Drug Administration has granted 510(k) clearance to Oxford Performance Materials, Inc.’s SpineFab VBR Implant system. According to the company’s press release, OPM’s SpineFab system is the first and only FDA cleared 3D printed load-bearing polymer device for long-term implantation. The ruling represents OPM’s third successful Estefan regulatory clearance. OPM’s SpineFab device is […]
For the sixth consecutive year, Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), located in New York City, has been ranked the top hospital in the country for orthopedics. The ranking was by U.S. News & World Report in its 2015, “Best Hospital Survey.” In 2014 HSS cared for more than 120, 000 patients with surgical and nonsurgical […]
In 2013 a team of surgeons from Changsha, Hunan Province of China, reattached a hand—which had been severed because of an industrial accident—to the patient’s ankle. The Changsha hospital surgical team sewed the severed hand to the patient’s ankle so that the ankle’s arteries and veins could feed the hand’s mangled tissues. In that older […]
Want to delay surgery until your patient loses weight? Think again. A study of 75, 000 obese men and 100, 000 obese women in the United Kingdom is discouraging. Researchers found that less than 1% of obese individuals will, in their lifetimes, attain normal weight. Parker Brown, wrote for MedPage Today that the study found […]
Fearful that robots may be taking over? Relax. It is not happening yet. A study by researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Rush University Medical Center found “a non-negligible number of technical difficulties and complications” during procedures performed by robots. The report is titled “Adverse Events in […]
A specialized procedure that lengthens bones can also prevent amputations in selected patients who have suffered severe fractures, according to Loyola University Medical Center orthopedic surgeon Mitchell Bernstein, M.D. Bernstein, is first author of a study, published in the journal Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research. He reports that an alternative limb-lengthening technique makes the long […]
The conventional treatment for an amputation above the knee is a specially fitted cup-like shell called a socket. It fits over the remaining portion of the patients’ leg and helps secure the device to the leg. If patients do not have a long enough residual limb to properly fit socket prosthesis or have other conditions, […]
Cutting Edge Spine has received FDA 510(k) clearance for its EVOS System. The system, according to the press release, offers an array of interbody implants manufactured with polymers known as Peek-Optima Natural and Peek-Optima HA Enhanced. “With the approval of the EVOS system, we are proud to be first-to-market in the U.S. with an HA […]
Contemplating a total elbow arthroplasty (TEA)? Brace yourself. A recent study of 1, 299 TEAs performed on 1, 145 patients found that almost half required revision surgery at the 25-year point. Moreover, the cumulative risk for revision surgery increased at a constant rate beginning at year one. Jennie McKee reported on the study in the […]
In what may turn out to be good news for adolescent sufferers from scoliosis, Israeli company ApiFix Ltd. reports “substantial reduction’ in the curvature in spines in a new study looking at a non-fusion, minimally invasive approach to scoliosis correction. The interim results reported patient outcomes for 25 patients at the one to three year […]
It is hazardous to try to predict the “next big thing” in medicine, but the National Science Foundation may be doing just that by investing $31 million in an attempt to discover metal surgical implants that will deteriorate in the body. Getting some of those research funds is University of Pittsburgh engineering professor Prashant Kumta, […]
Could FDA clearance be in the works later this year for Amedica Corporation’s composite silicon nitride spinal interbody device? Amedica’s Chairman and CEO Sonny Bal, M.D., J.D., MBA said: “After successfully completing an important surveillance audit with no non-conformities being identified, we’ve submitted responses to the FDA questions regarding our composite silicon nitride device.” “Our […]
Alachua, Florida-based AxoGen, Inc. announced that the first patient has been treated as part of its ground breaking study of its Avance Nerve Graft. Avance is an off-the-shelf processed human nerve allograft. It has the potential to significantly change the practice of nerve repair in trauma cases. The study, called “RECON, ” seeks to compare […]
Bacterin International Holdings, Inc., the Belgrade, Montana-based biologics and allograft company, surprised its analysts by pre-reporting and exceptional sales report for the June quarter. According to management, Bacterin will report sales of around $10 million for the three months ended June 30, up 12-15% from last year. To put that in perspective, Bacterin had reported […]
OrthoSpace, Ltd, a privately held medical device company located in Caesarea, Israel, has enrolled the first three patients in a U.S. investigational device exemption (IDE) pivotal study. The study is of the company’s balloon system, called InSpace, which is used to repair massive rotator cuff tears. InSpace has been implanted in more than 5, 000 […]
Captiva Spine, Inc. which modestly describes itself in its press release as “creating and maintaining sincere, honest, collaborative relationships to deliver smart, elegant, and intuitive spinal solutions” has received 510 (k) clearance, from the FDA to market its enhanced TowerLOX MIS Pedicle Screw System. The enhancements include what the firm calls its PivoQuik Rod-Inserter and […]
In’Tech Medical, Inc., a company founded in France in 2000, has acquired Turner Medical, Inc., of Athens, Alabama, making the combined firm the world’s largest provider of surgical instruments to the spine industry and a world leader in orthopedic contract manufacturing. “In’Tech Medical is the number one contract-manufacturer in Europe, with a significant U.S. presence. […]
Patients who have Type 2 diabetes are more likely to suffer from severe osteoarthritis than are those who are not diabetic. That is the result of a major study reported in Diabetes Care. Researchers found that having Type 2 diabetes can double one’s risk of developing severe osteoarthritis to a degree sufficiently advanced to call […]
From the press in India comes a report of a 59-year-old woman who received a new knee implant completely coated in several layers of gold. The patient was Anjali Kore, who was experiencing what she reported as unbearable pain when she tried to walk. Her surgeon, Amit Tyagi, M.D., with the Atlanta hospital at Vasundhara […]
Where is the outrage? The Wall Street Journal, in a report by Ed Silverman, details how manufacturers of drugs pay the women physicians who speak, consult and do research for them, considerably less than they pay their male counterparts for the very same activities. The discrepancies in the treatment of male and female medical professionals […]
Until now, according to Colin Fernandez, a science writer for the UK Daily Mail, scientists have been limited to growing only small pieces of human tissue in the laboratory. Growing large pieces did not succeed because the oxygen supply failed to get to the cells in the center leaving a hole in the middle of […]
Anika Therapeutics, Inc., a Bedford, Massachusetts company with products based on hyaluronic acid technology, has entered into an agreement with the Institute for Applied Life Sciences (IALS) at the University of Massachusetts (UMASS), Amherst, to collaborate on developing a therapy for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). According to their news release, if the research partnership is successful […]
What do the beaks of squids have to do with joint replacements in humans? Perhaps a lot, according to an article in the prestigious journal Nature Chemical Biology. The article relates how Assistant Professor Ali Miserez, Ph.D., and his team at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, have been studying the structure of squid’s beaks, believing that […]
The British Medical Journal (BMJ) is conducting a campaign called “Too Much Medicine” which suggests that there is an overuse of medical procedures and that it is a threat to health and wastes resources. As part of that campaign, the journal published an editorial criticizing the number of patients who were going in for knee […]
What is not to love about inventors? Two Halifax, Nova Scotia men, Chris Cowper-Smith and Bob Garrish, have developed a new sort of knee brace and they are vying for a $100, 000 prize in hopes of getting enough funds to bring their innovative brace to market. According to Rebecca Lau, reporter for Global News, […]
Scientists at the University of York announce, via a paper in Stem Cell Reports, that they have identified the individual stem cells that can regenerate tissue, cartilage and bone. The work was carried out working with colleagues at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam. Because the stem cells are similar in appearance and are mixed […]
Professor Hubert Egger, M.D., of the University of Linz in northern Austria and amputee Wolfgang Ragger have made medical history. Together they invented and are demonstrating a leg prosthesis—believed to be the world’s first—that provides “feeling” for the amputee. As Ragger said, “It’s like a second lease of life, like being reborn. It feels like […]
Mainstay Medical International, a company listed on the Irish and Paris, France Stock Exchanges, has received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration to begin a clinical trial of ReActive8 under an Investigational Device Exemption. ReActiv8 is an implantable neurostimulation system designed to reduce the pain and disability experienced by suffers with chronic […]
The Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center, Poplar Bluff, Missouri, has changed the way its staff relates to individuals seeking joint replacements. In the first place, they do not call their clients “patients.” Individuals having elective surgery are considered students, not patients. One of the physicians who developed the innovative program, Preston Jones, M.D. says, “We […]
A study, published in the May British Journal of Sports Medicine, involving 6, 000 Norwegian men born from 1923 to 1932 found that exercise late in life allows them to live longer. “Even in the elderly, there is a lot to gain by being moderately active as compared to being sedentary, ” said the study’s […]
BioMedical Enterprises, Inc. (BME), a privately held company in San Antonio, Texas, has launched its Speed Triad Nitinol Bone Fixation Implant—for bunions. Company spokesmen say this is the world’s first superelastic shape memory bone fixation system with three legs for stable, six-point fixation. The design, they say, gives surgeons a fast, reproducible way to achieve […]
Although it is not yet commercially available, physicians from the University of Buffalo Department of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine (UBMD) are working with a new kind of portable cone beam CT scanner. (CBTC) The device is made by Carestream Health, Inc., of Rochester, New York, and is capable of taking 3D images of patient extremities—their […]
John Adamovics, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Physics at Rider University, Lawrenceville, New Jersey, has found a new way to evaluate runners’ injuries. He takes infrared (IR) pictures of them (read entire article here). As he explained to writer Adam Grybowski at Rider, because injured muscles radiate heat, infrared cameras […]
American servicemen and women are getting new hips ad knees at an increasing rate. Over an 11-year surveillance period, researchers discovered that service members in their 30s and early 40s were having the joint replacement procedure done more often. They were also remaining in the military for a longer period following rehabilitation. Service members who […]
An American surgeon, William D. Smith, M.D., has successfully installed a total disc replacement device in a patient at the American Institute of Minimally Invasive Surgery in Cyprus. This represented the first in-human surgery using Dymicron, Inc.’s Triadyme-C cervical total disc replacement. “The patients are responding well to the implantation of the Dymicron devices, ” […]
Study results of CERAMENT|G, reported at the 2015 Orthopedic Research Society Annual Meeting, demonstrated that the Swedish product promoted new bone growth and decreased the rate of infection when compared to patients treated without a bone filler. The manufacturer, headquartered in Lund, Sweden, is Bonesupport AB, a maker of injectable bone substitutes for use in […]
Is anyone surprised? After the Affordable Care Act went into effect a lot of Americans stopped limping. The most “preference-sensitive” procedure undergone by new subscribers to Obamacare was knee replacement surgery, according to a report by the Society of Actuaries. A preference-sensitive procedure is defined by Dylan Scott, writing for National Journal, as one without […]
Should obese patients undergo bariatric surgery prior to a joint replacement? Two new studies done at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York indicate that they should. The studies provided evidence that bariatric surgery prior to joint replacement is a cost-effective option to improve outcomes after hip or knee replacement. The researchers compared the […]
Using proteins extracted from stem cells themselves, scientists have found a way to grow bones. The study, published in Scientific Reports, is the first to describe the extraction of necessary bone-producing growth factors from stem cells and then use these proteins to create new bone. The stem cell-based approach was as effective as the current […]
Researchers are not there yet, but they are closing in on the problem of how to create cartilage tissue. Now a team of scientists from University Health Network’s McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, report that they have generated articular chondrocytes and cartilage tissue from human pluripotent stem cells. It was not done […]
Dominique Sharpton, 28, eldest daughter of Al Sharpton, is suing New York City’s departments of Transportation and Environmental Protection for $5 million because of a sprained ankle. According to Kathianne Boniello, writing for the New York Post, Sharpton claimed that she was “severely injured, bruised and wounded” when she stumbled over uneven pavement at the […]
Gunnar B.J. Andersson, M.D., Ph.D and world-renowned spine surgeon has become a director of TheraCell, Inc. and a member of the firm’s surgeon advisory committee.
The process of repairing a broken bone in a patient with diabetes was enhanced when stem cells derived from human bone marrow were added. Cynthia Coleman, M.D. of the National University of Galway, Ireland, led the study involving stem cells and diabetics with broken bones. The researchers at Galway added human bone marrow stem cells […]
TissueGene, Inc. has reached an agreement with the FDA regarding a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) of the design and statistical analysis plan for a Phase 3 clinical trial. The trial will be of Invossa, an allergenic therapy for osteoarthritis of the knee. A Special Protocol Assessment is a procedure by which the FDA provides official […]
Hospitals whose surgeons perform hundreds of surgeries annually have better patient outcomes than do those whose surgeons perform fewer. The data on this has become so pronounced and compelling that three of the top academic hospital systems in the U.S. plan to limit low volume surgeries. According to Zach Budryk, writing for Fierce Health Care, […]
Two amputees, part of a trial in Copenhagen, are the first in the world to control their lower-limb prosthesis with their minds—subconsciously. As reported by Amy Pollock, writing for Reuters, the two have tiny implanted myoelectric sensors (IMES) surgically placed in their muscle tissue. An Icelandic orthopedics company called Össur developed the sensors and they […]
The dye is green and it sticks to bone fragments and grafts. When it is exposed to light the dye becomes antimicrobial. A study, published online in April in the journal of Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, reports that an antimicrobial dye activated by light “avidly adheres to bone to prevent bacteria from growing on […]
Cartiva, Inc, a company in Alpharetta, Georgia, that develops products to treat cartilage injuries has submitted the final module for its pre-market approval (PMA) application to the FDA. The product is called the Cartiva Synthetic Cartilage Implant (SCI). The final module covers the clinical results from the motion trial that evaluated the safety and effectiveness […]
LINKSpine, a company in Rockaway, New Jersey, that, in its own words, is “focused on simple, less invasive implants and techniques for spinal surgery” has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA for its product FacetLINK. FacetLINK uses two screws and a plated cross-connector assembly to stabilize the spine following a tissue-sparing midline or microsurgical decompression. […]
A medical device that, according to its manufacturer, Nevro Corp., eliminates the side effects of spinal stimulation, has received Food and Drug Administration approval. Nevro officials say that their Senza System is the only device in the class that does not produce a tingling sensation known as paresthesia. Varun Saxena, writing for Fierce Medical Devices, […]
Peter Whang, M.D., FACS is this year’s winner of the Leon L. Wiltse Award for Best Overall Paper which was presented at the 2015 International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery meeting in San Diego.
Safe Orthopaedics, a company in Eragny-Sur-Oise, France, is launching a range of fenestrated screws for spine surgery. The new screws have lateral windows that enable cement to be injected into osteoporotic vertebra in order to strengthen the screw’s anchoring to the bone. Safe Orthopaedic’s innovation is the combination of the fenestrated screw and its preassembled […]
A bulletin from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reports that the agency has given its approval to FH Orthopedic’s Arrow reverse shoulder long keel glenoid base plate. The French device maker announced that, following approval, it is planning an immediate U.S. launch of its product. According to Jason Scott, writing for FDA News, the […]
This Winnipeg Team doesn’t skate on ice and score on power plays. This team of 50 surgeons, nurses, physiotherapists and anesthesiologists are on the front lines of treating poor patients. No doubt there are a couple or more hockey players on this team who can score from the midline, but for this trip they are […]
Injuring a knee and damaging the cartilage is the nightmare of every young athlete. The reason? Present techniques for repairing damaged cartilage are generally not successful in the long run. The message most injured athletes receive is that cartilage in the joints, once damaged, does not repair itself. Instead it often gets worse. A group […]
Keith Valentine, former president of NuVasive, Inc. , has joined Integra LifeScience Corporation’s soon-to-be-spun off SeaSpine Holdings Corporation.
Progenza, a stem cell product made by Regeneus LTD, will be the subject of a clinical trial designed to determine the safety, tolerability and preliminary efficacy of intra-articular Progenza in adults with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis. An independent Human Research Ethics Committee registered with the Australian Government’s National Health and Medical Research Council approved of the […]
Can there be a relationship between migraine headaches sand carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS)? Huay-Zong Law, M.D., and colleagues at the University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, believe there may be. Their study, published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery shows an association between CTS and migraines. Law suggests that the two conditions may have […]
Mazor Robotics Ltd, of Caesarea, Israel, reports that surgeons have successfully completed the 10, 000th spinal surgery using the Mazor Robotics guidance system. The company launched the system in 2012 Company officials assert that Renaissance participates in a wide variety of spine procedures, including minimally invasive and percutaneous degenerative repair, vertebrae stabilization and fixation for […]
A hip fracture, once believed by elderly female patients to be the equivalent of a near death sentence, remains a dreaded incident. Calin S. Moucha, M.D., one of a trio of researchers who studied spinal anesthesia for hip fracture patients said, “Surgery to repair hip fractures can be associated with high morbidity and mortality, because […]
Spring is here—and with it comes the parade of runners and joggers—working out on the theory that exercise is good medicine. But how much exercise is optimal? According to John Naish, writing for the London Daily Mail, Danish investigators have found that light joggers—not marathon runners—have the lowest rates of death. The Danish study suggests […]
Researchers at Singapore General Hospital, in a study reported at the recent meeting of American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) in Las Vegas, found that most patients do not lose weight following a total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The researchers analyzed 7, 733 patients with tricompartmental osteoarthritis of the knee who underwent primary TKAs. The researchers […]
Meet the database with a name. Funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and called FORCE-TJR, this is the first comprehensive U.S. database on total hip and knee joint replacement patients and their surgical outcomes. Total hip and knee joint replacements (THR/TKR/TJR) are the most common inpatient surgical procedures performed in the United […]
The first FDA approved modular system for dealing with two-stage revisions of infected hip and knee arthroplasty is produced and distributed by OsteoRemedies, LLC, of Memphis, Tennessee. Called the Remedy Spacer, the device is a sterile-packaged, pre-formed, pre-loaded spacer dosed with Gentamicin antibiotics which its distributor claims will provide a consistent and reliable elution to […]
Researchers from LivHOME, one of the nation’s largest professionally led at-home senior care companies, matched 153 older adults who suffered from severe arthritis to another 153 adults of the same age who did not have arthritis. They followed the two cohorts for seven years and were surprised at the results. During the seven years they […]
One of the major causes of lost work time in America is pain in the back. Now, according to Joel Krasc, writing for Employees Benefit News, employers have been looking at how best to help employees with their back problems. Krasc reports that the Pacific Business Group on Health (PBGH) is expanding its Employers Centers […]
Xarelto burst upon the market promoted as a more convenient alternative to warfarin, the leading blood-thinner, used to reduce the risk of blood clots following knee or hip joint replacement surgery. Xarelto came in a single dose and, according to the manufacturer, did not require blood monitoring. Roopal Luhana, writing for The Legal Examiner, issues […]
A common conception about women having joint replacement surgery has been that fewer surgeries were performed on women because they tended to fare worse than men afterward. That idea has been contradicted by a new study led by Bheeshma Ravi, M.D., Ph.D. of the University of Toronto who analyzed data from patients who had their […]
A summer merger is planned for two orthopedic practices in Minnesota that, when completed, will make it one of the largest privately owned orthopaedic practices in the United States. The firms involved are Twin Cities Orthopedics and St. Croix Orthopaedics. The new firm will be known as Twin City Orthopedics. According to Mary Divine, writing […]
Research institutes from New Zealand and South Korea are joining forces to find viable treatment options for both humans and horses that lose cartilage. (Horses have knee cartilage that is similar in shape and load-bearing function to that of humans.) The researchers hope to regenerate degraded cartilage in people before it leads to osteoarthritis. The […]
Another long-held belief—that stretching helps prevent tendon injuries—is challenged by a study of past research led by Janne A. Peters from the University Medical Center, Groningen, The Netherlands. The study points out that there is no scientific evidence to support the value of stretching on tendons and some evidence to suggest that it might increase […]
A company that utilizes advanced silver ion technology to address surgical-site and hospital-acquired infections, and is appropriately named Silver Bullet Therapeutics Inc., has received a patent. Company officials explain that the new patent is a continuation of a previous one that significantly enhances the claims for the release of antimicrobial metal ions to prevent infection. […]
Elos AB, of Gotene, Sweden, a manufacturer of high precision implants and components used in medical technology, has entered into an agreement to acquire the American firm, Onyx Medical Corporation, of Memphis, Tennessee. The acquisition of Onyx is part of Elos’ strategy to focus on the growth segments of the medical device industry such as […]
A national 27-site study comparing minimally invasive lumbar decompression (MILD) with epidural steroid injections (ESIs) has reached full enrollment and all patients have been treated, according to a report in PRWeb. The randomized controlled study, named MiDAS ENCORE, will examine the long-term benefits for approximately 300 patients who received either minimally invasive lumbar decompression (MILD) […]
Which is better—total knee replacement or a partial? A new study by Weill Cornell Medical College and Hospital for Special Surgery suggests the latter. The study, published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, found that partial knee—also known as unicompartmental—replacements provide greater economic value to patients over the age of 65 compared to […]
India is planning to open its first medical device industrial park. It will be located in Gujarat, the state that was home to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A second park is being planned in the south Indian state of Tami Nadu. India presently imports 75% of it medical devices. Union organizer Ansanth Kumar, according […]
At first the concern was about concussions occurring at an increasing rate among young football players. Now the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) is reporting two trends that members feel are serious. First is that the number of youth injuries is increasing and, second, the fact that young athletes are experiencing injuries at […]
For every 10, 000 knee and hip replacement surgeries performed in India, a doctor conducts one complete elbow replacement. Sunil Dachepalli, M.D., Joint Replacement and Sports Medicine Specialist at Yashoda Hospitals, Somajiguda, India, in March successfully performed that surgery on a 70-year-old woman patient from Kenya. Describing the surgery he said that elbow joint replacement […]
Australian doctors are seeing a rise in the number of safety warnings about parts commonly used in hip and knee replacements. In just the past three months the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has issued seven alerts warning of higher-than-expected failure rates. By way of contrast, the agency issued only 13 warnings for implants and heir […]
The Food and Drug Administration has granted an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) to Moirai Orthopaedics L.L.C. of Metairie, Louisiana, for its Pyrocarbon Implant Replacement System (PIR). The PIR System is a single-component implant, fabricated from On-X pyrolytic carbon with hydroxyapatite coating on all bone interfacing surfaces. As the company explains, the investigational PIR implant is […]
A Swedish start-up, called BoneSupport, has added the antibiotic gentamicin to its product CERAMENT. BoneSupport’s original product, known as CERAMENT, is a synthetic bioceramic and injectable bone substitute made of calcium sulfate and hydroxyapatite combined with liquid Iohexol. The company’s most recent version, CERAMENT G, elutes the antibiotic gentamicin. “The drug eluting properties of CERAMENT […]
The FDA has granted a clearance to commercialize an expandable fracture cage for the repair of shoulder fractures, called the Conventus PH Cage. The expandable cage is made of nitinol, a nickel titanium alloy. The cage expands with the bone creating what the company calls “robust fixation, ” preventing further collapse of the fracture. According […]
Airport security alarms went off when children who had cobalt chrome spinal fusion implants in their backs tried to go through security. Twenty-four percent of 50 pediatric spinal fusion patients set off TSA metal detector alarms, according to Regina P. Woon, MPH , of Children’s’ Hospital in Los Angeles who reported on the events at […]
Who is at risk for complications following joint replacement surgery and which patients will sail smoothly through the process without incident? Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania conducted two tests to find out. In the first test, investigators examined the cases of 1, 012 patients who underwent primary total […]
In a study of 2, 248 hip and knee replacement patients, those treated with the pain killer Exparel (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension) reported significantly lower pain scores. According to the manufacturer, Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc., in a presentation at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), patients treated with Exparel were more […]
If you are black or Hispanic and have had knee or hip replacement surgery you are 62% and 50%, respectively, more likely to be readmitted to the hospital within 30 days compared with white patients. Medicaid patients are 40% more likely to be readmitted to the hospital than are patients with private insurance. That is […]
Patients who are malnourished are more likely to have complications following total knee or hip replacement surgeries than patients who are morbidly obese. However, the researchers, led by P. Maxwell Courtney, M.D. of the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, found that, perhaps because of the amount of empty calories consumed, morbidly […]
New research from Canada, reported in Arthritis Digest, reveals that women have fewer complications than do men after knee and hip replacements. Men also face higher odds than women that they will need revision surgery in a Canadian hospital. Researchers looked at eight years of records for 37, 881 total hip replacements of which 53.8% […]
A major concern for patients contemplating hip joint replacement surgery is how long before they can resume the activities of a normal life. Chief among those “normal life” activities is driving a car. Traditionally, doctors have recommended that patients experience from six to eight weeks of recovery before getting behind the wheels of their cars. […]
If you are a diabetic, try not to fracture an ankle. Research led by Kenneth A. Egol, M.D., of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at New York University, found that diabetics who undergo ankle fracture surgery have significantly longer lengths of stay and higher hospital charges compared to non-diabetics. And they discovered even worse trends […]
This year’s $20, 000 Kappa Delta Sorority Award winning paper looked at the problem of post-traumatic arthritis of the knee in a new and novel way and may well have uncovered a remarkable new therapy or approach to preventing arthritis in knee trauma cases.
Researchers are not there yet but PR Newswire reports that stem cell treatment for knee arthritis is showing some positive results. Nathan Wei, M.D., director of the Arthritis Treatment Center located in Frederick, Maryland, has been employing adult stem cells taken from bone marrow and fat to treat patients suffering from osteoarthritis of the knee. […]
An individual may feel that his (or her) osteoarthritic knee was in about as bad a shape as a knee could be before surgery. But a study has found that a posttraumatic total knee arthroplasty (TKA) has worse outcomes than does an osteoarthritis total knee arthroplasty. Doctors at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, performed a […]
Almost 93% of athletes with the National Football League (NFL) who sustained injuries to the midfoot were able to return to play in 15 months or less after their injury. There was no observable difference in their performance according to research from the Perelmann School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The findings focus […]
Grey hair and bald heads predominated in the room at the annual meeting in Las Vegas of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). The topic? IS there life after orthopedics? What about after five years? Then what? How does a retired doc avoid the situation of one morning facing a wife who tells him […]
Brainlab, a 25-year-old medical technology company from Munich, Germany, exhibited at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Las Vegas convention what it claims to be the first digital app for an iPad that enables surgeons to do automatic, pre-operative joint replacement planning off site. Called the TraumaCad Mobile, the app contains images of 20, […]
A study by researchers at New York University’s Langone’s Hospital for Joint Diseases has identified common causes for hospital readmissions following total hip (THA) and knee arthroplasty(TKA). The patients studied were part of the Bundled Payment for Care Initiative from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. This is a government pilot program where hospitals […]
Doctors concerned about how best to treat and deal with their obese patients received assistance from a statement developed by a Communications Cabinet workgroup of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) and published in the daily edition of AAOS Now—the publication of the AAOS, Las Vegas convention. More than one-third (34.9% or 78.6 million) […]
Timothy Miller, M.D., team physician in the Ohio State University Sports Medicine Department, knows Achilles tendon injuries all too well. He has set a goal for himself to treat tears of the Achilles tendon more effectively and heal them more reliably than have others. Miller is using a single continuous loop of non-absorbable suture to […]
New York-Presbyterian Lawrence hospital has named William Macaulay, M.D., director of orthopedic surgery and sports medicine to head orthopedics at two institutions.
Ottobock’s prosthetic hand, with four movable fingers and a positionable thumb uses electrical signals originating in the brain to crate movement. The device has recently been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for promotion in the U.S. Called the Michelangelo Hand, users of the device say that it looks and feels like a […]
For Chinese officials who are preparing a bid to host the Winter Olympics, a recent increase in sports injuries is not alarming. Instead the increase “somehow reflects the growing popularity of winter sports in China, ” according to Li Guoping, the head of Beijing’s Sports Medicine Hospital. Another government advisor, NBA star Yao Ming, reflected […]
From a publication called Orthopedic Design and Technology comes word of a robotic ankle that can see where it is going. Mo Rastgaar, a Michigan Technological University mechanical engineer, and his team have developed a prototype of a prosthetic ankle that can move in a way that mimics a natural gait. Now, they aim to […]
A paper published in the British Medical Journal calls for more regulation of medical devices. The purpose—to reduce the need for further traumatic and expensive surgery. The University of Warwick in the United Kingdom looked at ten year revision rates for five of the most commonly used hip replacement devices. They wanted to learn how […]
Though the Apple watch will debut in April without some of its anticipated health functions, the company still expects to sell as many as 30 million units within weeks of its release, estimates Brian Eastwood, writing for Fierce Health Payer. American are eager to use mobile tools to manage and improve their health and 90% […]
The older patient has a fracture of the upper arm! What to do? Hold the surgery! A study of 231 people with an average age of 66, each of whom had a displaced fracture of the arm near the shoulder, found that a sling was better for them than was surgery. Some of the 231 […]
Some hospitals are seeing outpatient joint replacement surgery as a growth opportunity. Kendal Gapinski, writing for Outpatient Surgery publication says that advanced anesthesia techniques and muscle-sparing procedures are driving the trend. Gapinski quotes Richard Berger, M.D., a hip and knee reconstruction and replacement orthopedic surgeon at Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush in Chicago, Illinois, who said, […]
A peer reviewed study of 104 consecutive procedures found that absorbable subcuticular staples are a safe, secure, efficient, and effective modality for skin closure in knee arthroplasty. When compared with metal staples, the absorbable staples save time in surgery and “uncomplicated cosmetic healing and improved patient satisfaction, ” according to the authors Jonathan H. Biebl, […]
Ottawan patients rejoice. Wait times for a joint replacement in Ottawa have dropped dramatically in the past six months. Instead of waiting 460 days for a hip replacement at the Ottawa Hospital—as was the case in July—patients got new hips, beginning in January 2015, after a wait of only 74 days. Half of all hip […]
As the number of joint replacement surgeries continues to grow in the U.S., so does the concern over complications from infection—especially from antibiotic resistant superbugs. Biomedical engineers at North Carolina State University are using nanotechnology to build a germ-killer directly into the orthopedic implants themselves. They plan to use a battery-activated device to power an […]
Stephen Duquette, M.D. is a hand surgeon with the Indiana University Department of Surgery, Division of Plastic Surgery. He practices at the R.L Roudebush VA hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana. He does carpal tunnel surgeries—lots of them. He estimates that there are 50, 000 performed in the U.S. each year, making it one of the most […]
The next “big things” in health care are “wearable’s”—devices that can monitor systems in the body and communicate data to health care professionals. Among the latest to engage in this development are the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota and Gentag, Inc. located in the United Kingdom. The two have partnered to develop next-generation wireless, disposable […]
For wearables to be generally adopted, they must meet consumer needs for longtime use, according to Parks Associates, as reported by Judy Mott of Fierce Mobile Healthcare. At present about 5% of U.S. households contain an individual who uses a smart watch to track health and fitness. If that percentage is every going to increase, […]
An association that represents medical schools and teaching hospitals estimates that the U.S. will be short by as many as 90, 000 physicians by 2025. “The doctor shortage is real—it’s significant—and it’s particularly serious for the kind of medical care that our aging population is going to need, ” said Darrell G. Kirch, M.D., president […]
The health care arm of the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. prepared a proposal for a national device surveillance system for medical devices. The purpose of the proposal is to do for devices what the FDA Sentinel system does in tracking drugs and vaccines. The Brookings Institution produced the report at the request of the […]
Few orthopedic surgeons need to be convinced that the number of total hip replacements will continue to increase over the next few years. A new report from the National Center for Health Statistics—which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—reveals that “the future is already here, ” as the authors put it. […]
It is an unfortunate fact of life that hyaline cartilage, which cushions joints, does not have the capacity to regenerate. Once it is gone, it is gone forever, according to Professor Norihuki Tsumaki, of the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application at Kyoto University, Japan. Hyaline cartilage consists of chondrocytes and their secretions. The […]
The move is on to use phone apps and wearables to monitor patient compliance with their doctor’s health care plans. One company that hopes to reduce hospital admissions and increase post-discharge patient engagement through remote patient monitoring is iGetBetter, located in Sudbury Massachusetts. According to writer Jonah Comstock, iGetBetter’s platform allows patients to access their […]
A common blood test used to measure the performance of elite athletes is being used to evaluate the mental disposition of cattle, according to John O’Connell, of Capitol Press. It seems that the emotional state of cattle is a significant thing to know. Studies have shown that stress reduces weight gain in livestock and may […]
The Achilles tendon will have a better chance of surviving downhill running if the runner transitions gradually to that level of running, according to a study by researchers at Brigham Young University. The study was reported by Robert Bredt, a HealthDay reporter. The study author and former track star Kay Andrews Neves said, “Though there […]
A 60-year-old woman with a 90% bone deformity in her knees was “cured” in a remarkable surgery in Gurgason, India. Rajesh Devi suffered from osteoarthritis and severe osteoporosis and the bones of her knee had become permanently deformed and were literally bent over by a full 90 degrees. She was bedridden. Her legs could not […]
Aspetar, a specialized orthopedic and sports medicine hospital—the first of its kind in the Middle East—has become a regional reference center for the program called “Exercise is Medicine.” “Exercise is Medicine” is a non-profit initiative launched by the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Medical Association. It calls for physical activity and exercise […]
San Diego-based Cytori Therapeutics, Inc. has treated its first patient in its FDA approved trial assessing the effect of Cytori Cell Therapy for osteoarthritis of the knee. Peter Hanson, M.D., medical director of Orthopedic Surgery at Sharp Grossmont Hospital, took care of the patient. The trial, called ACT-OA, is a Phase II FDA randomized, double-blind […]
There may be a worm in Apple’s new ready-to-launch product. According to Susan Hall, writing for the Wall Street Journal, the sensors that measure skin conductivity and an electrocardiogram device that is intended to measure a wearer’s heart, are not working reliably on the Apple watch. So those features may be dropped from the watch […]
With running tracks blanketed under feet of snow in much of the country, runners are asking if running on a treadmill might be a good substitute for outdoor training. Exercise physiologist Reed Ferber, director of the running injury clinic at the University of Calgary in Canada, told Liz Neporent of Good Morning America that, for […]
If you live in Nova Scotia and need a new knee, prepare to wait a lot longer than do citizens in other part of Canada. The average Canadian national waiting time for a joint replacement is about six months. In Nova Scotia it is three times that, according to Jean Laroche, writing for the CBC […]
We should stop blaming the keyboard for carpal tunnel syndrome, according to Jonathan Sorelle, M.D., a Las Vegas, Nevada, hand surgeon. Sorelle says that repetitive use, such as typing on a keyboard, was once believed to be a cause of carpal tunnel syndrome but that theory is no longer considered valid. “It’s not usually work-related, […]
Passage in 2006 of the Massachusetts health care reform—known as RomneyCare—led to a 4.7% increase in joint replacement procedures, according to a report by health care researchers. Jessica Bartlett, a reporter for the Boston Business Journal quoted Amresj Hganchate, the first author of the study who now works for the Section of General Internal Medicine […]
This seems like an obvious no-brainer but researchers at Boston Medical Center (BMC) have found that the expansion of insurance coverage in Massachusetts in 2006 resulted in an increase in the number of elective knee and hip replacement procedures by 4.7%. The greatest increases were among Black and Hispanic patients. “The need for knee and […]
About 50 volunteers from Spain, Italy, Ireland and Israel, all with Parkinson’s, have been testing a portable monitoring system developed over a period of 5 years by a group of Portuguese researchers. Called the Remmark System, the apparatus consists of a wearable movement sensor to monitor the patient’s gait, a headset, an automated medication pump […]
BONESUPPORT, a company based in Sweden, has received regularity approval from the Central Drugs Standards Control Organization and their Medical Device Approval Committee to sell CERAMENT Bone Void Filler and Cerament G in India. According to BONESUPPORT, CERAMENT G is an injectable antibiotic eluting bone substitute developed for bone healing that is threatened by infection. […]
If you are a young athlete who had anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) you have a 33% chance of getting osteoarthritis of the knee within a year. That is the result of a study conducted by Adam Culvenor of the University of Queensland School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences in Brisbane, Australia. The study was […]
Wine lovers rejoice. Regular wine drinkers are less likely than drinkers of other beverages to develop knee osteoarthritis (OA), according to a British study reported by Nancy Walsh, senior staff writer for MedPage Today. But beer drinkers beware. The same benefit does not accrue to you. Rather the odds of getting OA increase. The study […]
The number of hip replacements performed in the United States has skyrocketed, according to a study conducted by Monica Wolford, a statistician with the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics. As reported by Randy Dotinga, for HealthDay Reporter, over the 10-year period of the study, the number of hip replacements has more than doubled from […]
Grandpa’s cane is going high tech and turning into a collector of data. A company called Doctor’s Orders, which grew out of the technology, management and entrepreneurship program at the University of New Brunswick, is designing a “smart cane” that it’s developers believe will speed the recovery of knee and hip replacement patients and collect […]
What to you do if you are 24 years-old, have had three failed surgeries on your leg to treat multiple point recurrent cancer of the leg bone and live in Uzbekistan? The young man, Sobidji, went to India. In India Rajeev K. Sharma, M.D., a senior consultant in orthopedics, and a joint replacement surgeon performed […]
Who would have guessed that mechanical forces exerted on stem cells would trigger a key signaling pathway that would determine what kind of tissue the cell would develop into? The first step took place when bioengineer Yingxiao Wang, University of California, San Diego, squeezed a tiny bead attached to the outside of a human stem […]
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT), taken by a patient after a total knee or hip arthroplasty, was associated with almost a 40% decrease in the rate of revision surgery, according to Med Page Today senior staff writer, Nancy Walsh. Walsh reported on a study funded by the National Institute for Health Research and conducted at the […]
It is reassuring when science and research confirm the obvious. Reuters writer Shereen Lehman reports that a total of 42 studies conducted since 1980 have all affirmed that walking with a social group is good for one’s health. “Walking groups are increasingly popular, but until now we have not known if there are wider health […]
A team at Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan, in a world first procedure, used magnets to concentrate iron-laced stem cells around damaged cartilage. The surgeon, Mitsuo Ochi, M.D., said that the endoscopic surgery was easier on the patient than other approaches. Prior to the surgery, the team extracted mesenchymal stem cells from the bone marrow […]
The recent research conducted by Blue Cross Blue Shield into variations in the cost of hip and knee joint replacement surgery, two of the fastest-growing medical procedures in the United States, continues to reverberate. The study is titled, “A Study of Cost Variations for Knee and Hip Replacement Surgeries in the U.S.” Researchers looked at […]
Researchers are not there yet—but stay tuned. For the first time, human stem cells have grown hair. Alexey Terskikh, Ph.D., associate professor in the Development, Aging and Regeneration Program at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, Orlando, Florida, reported, ” We have developed a method using human pluripotent stem cells to create new cells capable of initiating […]
Participation in what are considered to be popular youth team sports has decreased significantly in recent years, according to a survey by the Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA). Chuck Corbin, in a special to the Ahwatukee Foothills News, reported that basketball has dropped 8.3%, baseball 7.2% and tackle football by 5.4% over the past […]
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has extended its partnership agreement with the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) for five and a half more years. That extension will take both organizations, which have been working together since 2006, beyond the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. The ACSM is acknowledged to be one of the leading organizations […]
In a hurry to get a knee joint replaced? You will soon be able to get one in ten minutes at the RAK Hospital in Dubai, performed by Vikram Shah, M.D. of Shalby Hospitals in India. Shah, who performs the “‘zero technique ten-minute total knee replacement (TKR) surgery, ” has agreed to do the same […]
The Carle Foundation, a not-for-profit, integrated healthcare system based in east central Illinois (18 outpatient locations and 2 hospitals) has announced plans to build a $23 million outpatient orthopedic and sports medicine center in the University of Illinois Research Park in Champaign, according to a report in the Champaign-Urbana News Gazette. The foundation, which will […]
El Lae, writing for Fierce Pharma Asia, predicts that China’s market for medical devices will pass Japan’s this year, making its market second only to the United States. Access China Management Consulting wrote that China’s market would pass the $55 billion mark this year, a number that is almost double what it was just two […]
Surgeons at the University of California, Davis, are testing a device that seems more like a Rube Goldberg invention than a medical one. The item contains a reamer, irrigator, an aspirator system and can also be used for high speed drilling into bone. Drilling creates heat so the device has to be continually cooled with […]
Chinese doctors have used 3D printing to treat an injury referred to as “floating shoulder.” According to Te Edwards writing for 3Dprint.com, the condition is sufficiently dangerous to a patient that it can result in death. Edwards describes the injury as a combination of ipsilateral scapular neck and clavicular shaft fractures that are caused by […]
Surgeons at Ohio State Medical Center (OSU) at Columbus have performed the first plastic meniscus implantation in the United States. Christopher Kaeding, M.D., executive director of OSU Sports Medicine, performed the surgery which was part of an FDA approved clinical trial. As Norber Sparrow, a writer for the trade journal Plastics Today, explained, the meniscus […]
A medical first took place on January 26, 2015 when Samih Tarabichi, M.D., replaced four joints on a patient simultaneously at Dubai’s Burjeel Hospital for Advanced Surgery. Tarabichi explained the surgery and what lay behind his decision to operate as he did. “The procedure is really rare and has never been performed in the USA […]
Researchers who studied the pain scores of 635 patients with self-reported fibromyalgia-like symptoms concluded that total hip or knee replacement may not be advisable for those who are experiencing severe hip and/or knee pain. As reported by Rosemary Frei, writing for Pain Medicine News, the study found that patients’ self-report survey for the assessment of […]
David Morgan, writing for Scientific American, reports that hip and knee joint replacements are subject to “huge and apparently random price variations within the same geographical area.” His source is a Blue Cross Blue Shield study of claims in 64 healthcare markets over three years. The study found the largest price swings in hip surgery […]
Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is the first hospital in the U.S. to offer a surgical guarantee for hip and knee replacement surgery. According to the news release, the guarantee promises patients, insurance providers and employers that they will not receive any additional bills for costs associated with […]
Scientists at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) have identified a stem cell in the bone marrow of mice that is capable of regenerating both bone and cartilage. They report their study (“Gremlin 1 Identifies a Skeletal Stem Cell with Bone, Cartilage, and Reticular Stromal Potential”) in the online issue of Cell. They discovered the cells, […]
Craig Della Valle, M.D., a hip and knee replacement surgeon at Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, is recruiting patients for a new total knee replacement procedure that preserves the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Most standard knee replacement surgeries remove the ACL. Della Valle is performing this study to learn if this ACL-preserving […]
Most women who wear high heels know, from the pain in their feet, that the heels are not good for them. Radhika Sanghani, an admitted lover of stilettos, writing for The Telegraph in the UK reports that Stanford University scientists have found that when a woman puts on a pair of high heeled shoes she […]
Cerapedics, Inc., a privately-held orthobiologics company located in Westminster, Colorado, has received CE Mark rating in Europe and Therapeutic Goods Administration listing in Australia for the firm’s new i-FACTOR Flex FR biologic bone graft. The new biologic bone graft, designed primarily for spinal fusion surgery, features the company’s proprietary synthetic small peptide bone graft technology […]
Spinal Simplicity, LLC, a spinal device company located at Overland Park, Kansas, has received 510(k) marketing clearance for its system called the Minuteman. The Minuteman is described as a pre-packaged sterile supplemental posterior fixation system that ”offers a minimally invasive alternative to traditional pedicle screws and other spinous process plates that are placed in open […]
Two Swiss researchers at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale in Lausanne, Switzerland, had already earned the world’s plaudits when they created an implanted device that allowed paralyzed mice to move their legs. When Gregoire Courtine and Stéphanie Lacour later discovered that their ground-breaking new device eventually caused compression and tissue damage in their subjects because it […]
More than half of all adults in the U.S. who are diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis will undergo knee replacement surgery, according to a Workers Compensation estimate. While the surgical techniques have continued to improve, pain control has not. A study at Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Michigan, found that if doctors injected a newer, long-acting medicine […]
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), about 4, 400 people underwent total ankle replacement surgery in 2010. That may seem like a lot until those surgeries are compared to the 1.1 million knee and hip replacements that took place that same year. “Total ankle replacement is still an emerging technology that is on […]
The devices that exploded last year with consumers were the wireless devices that monitored their health. Wearers were not so worried about diabetes, but 74% of men between the ages of 55 and 64 were concerned about being overweight. Among women it was younger individuals who were concerned about their weight. The study found that […]
Seriously, “Phusion”? PorOsteon, Inc, (not “ProOsteon”) of Menlo Park, California, has a way with words and just received a received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to sell its catchy new Phusion Metal Cervical Cage. The company is the exclusive manufacturer of medical devices composed of Phusion Metal, a porous material developed […]
Integra LifeSciences Holding Corporation, based in Plainsboro, New Jersey, has acquired the product portfolio of Metasurg. The portfolio includes the DigiFuse Cannulated Intramedullary Fusion System, MemoFix Super Elastic Nitinol Staple System, Ti6 screw portfolio, BioMotion 1st MPJ Hemi System and TruArch Subtalar Implant System. Metasurg was founded in 2005 in Houston, Texas. Integra officials say […]
There has been far too much kerfuffle about privacy of medical records, according to a study carried out by NPR (National Public Radio) and reported by Scott Hensley. Over half of Americans are willing to share their health data so long as it is going to be used for research. When it comes down to […]
From London comes news that the UK Subsidiary of Collagen Solutions plc has agreed to acquire its soluble collagen from the Turkish company Desu Medical. The agreement calls for the manufacturing of brain dura and spinal fusion implants. These will be used in the treatment of spinal injuries by stimulating what the company refers to […]
Bone Therapeutics SA, a Gosselies, Belgium, regenerative therapy company, is developing osteoblastic cell-matrix products for the treatment of large bone defects. The government of the Walloon Region has granted the company one million Euros to help finance the project. The company plans to combine its allogeneic bone-forming (osteoblastic) cells within a 3D bio printed scaffold […]
Micron Products, Inc. a subsidiary of Arrhythmia Research Technology, Inc., has entered into a five-year, exclusive manufacturing agreement with New Era Orthopaedics LLC (NEO) for its total knee, hip and spine systems. Micron Products manufactures components, devices and equipment for medical, military, law enforcement and industrial applications. The company’s orthopedic implant machining operation produces quick-turn, […]
Knee replacement patients in the UAE (United Arab Emirates) are getting younger. The reason, says orthopedic surgeon Suad Trebinjac, M.D., is obesity and a lack of exercise. Trebinjac, a consultant in physical medicine and rehabilitation at the Rashid Hospital, said that on an average he sees four to five patients every six months below the […]
MicroPort Orthopedics Inc., a global producer of orthopedic implant products, reports that Jimmy Chow, M.D., has performed over 1, 000 total hip arthroplasty surgeries using the firm’s Supercapsular Percutaneously Assisted Total Hip approach. Called SuperPath, this technique is a modification of the standard posterior hip approach that offers special treatment of the soft tissues surrounding […]
As if growing old, itself, were not bad enough, a study has found that concomitant rotator cuff tears in association with proximal humerus fractures are relatively common and are associated with older patients—as well as those with a fracture-dislocation. As reported by Orthopedics Today, researchers reviewed data from 345 patients who underwent surgery for 349 […]
Let the genes off the hook. A family history of osteoarthritis (OA) or unspecified arthralgia was not predictive of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA) according to a study in Sweden, reported by Diana Swift of MedPage Today. “Although statistically significant familial co-aggregation was found for RA to every non-RA arthritis-related disease group—with no pronounced difference between […]
According to one estimate, more than half of the adults in the U.S. who are diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis will go on to have knee replacement surgery. Pain control after the surgery remains a persistent side effect for patients. A Henry Ford Hospital study found that injecting a long-acting numbing medicine—called liposomal bupivacaine—into the tissue […]
A Canadian study has found that there are no long-term beneficial outcomes between minimally invasive and open discectomies. In fact, minimally invasive surgery for discectomies may be associated with greater risks of neurologic injury and incidental damage to the covering of the spinal cord, according to a McMaster University press release. Nathan Evaniew, a research […]
An Australian study has found that as many as 15% of elective joint surgery patients at a large hospital have gone on to experience acute kidney injury (AKI) following their surgery. Previous studies of AKI had come up with an incidence rate of approximately 2%. “In the context that any episode of AKI is associated […]
The Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation (MTF) is launching a new division dedicated to researching and providing allograft-based, biologic solutions to treat acute and chronic wounds. The division is called MTF Wound Care. MTF is a non-profit that identifies itself as the nation’s leading tissue bank that supplies donated human tissue for orthopedics, spine and plastic surgery […]
The identifying initials are ICOR and they stand for International Consortium of Orthopedic Registries—a new and somewhat unprecedented collaboration among researchers. Purpose of the registry is to track the effectiveness and safety of hip and knee implants after they have been installed. The researchers and data collectors are from the U.S. institutions Kaiser Permanente and […]
Two young athletes from Bangalore, India—Anshuman Singh and Shuvadeep Sarkar—have created the world’s first smart insole, made specifically for runners. The insole, called Stridalyzer, can estimate, analyze and alert runners about potential foot and knee injuries. Their young start-up company is ReTiSense. Every year, about 65%-70% of all runners sustain injuries, according to Singh. Knee […]
If one is 65 or older one of the specters that is most personally haunting is the possibility of a fall. One-third of the individuals in that age range do fall with the result that hundreds of thousands suffer from devastating hip fractures each year. According to research published in the JAMA Internal Medicine, and […]
The sports medicine company Motus Global has designed a wearable sensor that is designed to reduce the risk of a major league baseball player straining the ulna collateral ligament (UCL) in his arm. The sensor resembles a sleeve. According to the company’s description, it is worn on the pitcher’s elbow and it contains a 3D […]
Shawn W. Palmer, M.D., of Midwest Bone and Joint Institute at the Valley Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC), in St. Charles, Illinois, has performed the state’s first outpatient anterior approach hip replacement surgery. According to PR Newswire, during surgery the hip is replaced from the front side without cutting any muscle. This is said to allow […]
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved hip EOS, a 3D hip arthroplasty planning software product based on EOS stereoradiographic imaging. The program was developed by OneFit medical, an EOS imaging company, located in France. EOS officials state that their medical imaging system is based on technology associated with George Charpak who won the […]
Artificial hip and knee joints are wearing out too soon—often after 10 to 15 years of use—and researchers at the Voland College of Engineering and architecture at Washington State University (WSU) are determined to do something about it. Susmita Bose, Ph.D., professor in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering and her colleagues, have received […]
Sheep with regrown meniscus in their knees are happily and painlessly gamboling around their meadow. If the treatment works on sheep—it may on humans as well. Columbia University Medical Center researchers have devised a way to replace the knee’s meniscus by using a personalized 3D printed implant infused with human growth factors to prompt the […]
The Major League Baseball Team Physicians Association (MLBTPA) has, for the first time, named a woman physician to serve as president-elect. Kathleen Weber, M.D.
MIT Technology Review writer Antonio Regalado wrote: “The NFL Has A Problem With Stem Cell Treatments.” The problem he was referring to in his article is the fact that professional athletes are getting injections of stem cells to hasten their recovery from injuries and researchers have yet to come up with evidence that the treatment […]
A major driver of foot and ankle surgery is hallux valgus—more commonly known as “bunions”. Risk factors for the ailment, according to Diana Swift, writing for MedPage Today, are being female, African American, having flat feet (pes planus) and knee or hip osteoarthritis. Being of an older age is another risk factor. A study, published […]
A survey of 2, 626 adults between the ages of 45 to 75 who are living with the pain of osteoarthritis (OA) found that those who had not had joint replacement were in worse shape where their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health was concerned than their fellow Americans who had. The Harris Poll conducted […]
Lima Corporate, an Italian medical device company located in San Daniele del Friuli, Udine, reports that it has installed 100, 000 of its C2 Hip Stems since the product was launched. This puts the company on track to install more than 40, 000 implants of the entire Hip Femoral Prosthesis line by the end of […]
Individuals who undergo surgery to repair tears in the meniscus cartilage in their knees often develop osteoarthritis in that knee within a year of the operation. That is the result of a study conducted by Frank Roemer, M.D., researcher and associate professor of radiology at Boston University School of Medicine. Roemer observed radiographic-diagnosed osteoarthritis in […]
Yes, it’s ok to get excited—even though many tests work on mice that fail on people – we must note that researchers at Case Western Reserve University have devised a treatment of the spinal cord that is showing potential to treat paralysis. As FierceBioTech reporter Damian Garde explained it, injury to the spine often severs […]
By 2020 6.5 million Americans between the ages of 35 and 84 will be diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis. People as young as 45 to 54 will account for more than half of the newly diagnosed cases, according to a report compiled for TRFW News (http://news.therawfoodworld.com/knee-arthritis-rise-suggestions-reduce-risks/). Contributing factors in the spread of this ailment appear to […]
THINK Surgical, Inc., formerly the Curexo Technology Corporation, has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its new TSolution One Surgical System for total hip arthroplasty (THA). The robotic system consists of two technologies. They are the Tplan 3D planning workstation and the TCAT computer-assisted tool. The two work together to […]
Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) is, also known as “Brittle Bone” disease. Doctors identify it through genetic testing and the use of invasive diagnostic techniques and X-rays. That is about to change. Thanks to research carried out by researchers from University College London (UCL), the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital […]
CollPlant, Ltd of Rehovot, Israel, is a developer and manufacturer of human collagen-based medical products designed to treat chronic wounds including diabetic foot care, pressure ulcers and wounds. Its product, called Vergenix FG, is based on a human collagen produced in tobacco plants. It is presently part of a clinical trial in Israel. Officials describe […]
SuperSonic Imagine, a company based in Aix-en-Provence, France, has received 510(k) clearance from the Food and Drug Administration for two new probes used with its ultrasound machine, the Aixplorer. The company specializes in ultrasound medical imaging. According to the company’s release, the first of these newly approved devices facilitates musculoskeletal and sports medicine diagnoses. Called […]
The program is called “Operation Walk Utah.” The organization is a not-for-profit, volunteer medical service that is a chapter of the national Operation Walk. Utah members recently returned from their seventh medical mission to El Salvador where they provided no-cost total hip and knee replacements to patients who needed them the most. A team of […]
Medacta USA, the American subsidiary of Medacta International, SA, has completed its first surgery in the U.S. utilizing its product MySpine Patient-Matched Technology. The system utilizes 3-D reconstruction and 3-D printing technologies to produce patient specific surgical guides to support spinal surgeons in complex deformity cases. According to company officials, MySpine is designed to help […]
The first patient has been enrolled in a study called STITCH to evaluate a suture-based meniscal repair for patients with horizontal meniscus tears. This is a common type of knee injury. The study is being conducted by Ceterix Orthopaedics, Inc. of Menlo Park, California. Patients with horizontal cleavage tears often undergo the partial removal of […]
The information about brain-damage among football players grows more and more worrisome. Professor Alon Friedman, M.D., Ph.D., of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, has published findings in JAMA Neurology that suggest that up to 40% of football players may suffer from, as yet, unsuspected blood-brain barrier damage. This incidence took place among players who […]
From a publication called The Engineer comes the suggestion that remotely controlled magnetic nanoparticles could be the key to spurring the healing of damaged bone. This could be especially useful in dealing with fractures that do not heal, damage caused by osteoporosis and bone diseases. Researchers led by James Henstock, Ph.D. of Keele University’s Research […]
Corin Group PLC, a global manufacturer and supplier of orthopedic devices, has acquired Optimized Ortho, an Australian orthopedics technology company. Optimized Ortho specializes in providing surgeons with technologies for optimizing orthopedic implant component positioning. The acquisition provides Corin with an IP-protected technology–called Optimized Positioning System (OPS)—that is the first of its kind in the orthopedic […]
When Christopher Ahmad, M.D. Chief of sports medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, began seeing five to six patients a day who were complaining of sore arms, he became concerned. At the same time, according to Shazia Khan, a reporter for Warner Cable News, Ahmad observed an increase in the number of major league baseball […]
The first report is out from the American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR) and it reveals that in 2013 6% of replacement operations were revision surgeries—most of them taking place within three months of the original surgery. Irvin Jackson, writing for About Lawsuits.com, notes that the data in the report covers only about 4.5% of joint […]
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a three-year $150, 000 grant to Adam Hacking, Ph.D., chief scientific officer at Oxford Performance Materials, Inc. The purpose of the grant is to improve the treatment of infections related to artificial hips and knees through applications of 3-D printed poly-ether-ketone-ketone (PEKK). “We are extremely grateful for […]
A doctor in Frederick, Maryland, Nathan Wei, M.D., is using a new procedure to treat carpal tunnel syndrome that has his patients grateful and excited about it. As described by Patti Borda Mullins, writing for the Frederick News Post, the procedure is done without general anesthesia, the patient has no pain from the procedure and […]
Is osteoarthritis (OA), the most common joint ailment afflicting middle-age and older adults, caused by running? According to Rebekah Marcarelli, writing for Headlines and Global News, past studies on elite male runners have suggested that such a link could exist. Grace Hsiao-Wei Lo, M.D., M.S. of Baylor College of Medicine, decided to find out. She […]
Aurora Spine Corporation has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its slimmest minimally invasive interspinous fixation implant for spinal fusion—called the Zip 51. Aurora Spine developed the Zip 51 “as an alternative to pedicle screw fixation, ” say company officials, “and designed it for stabilization and load sharing during […]
Having a total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA)? Pick a hospital that performs many procedures. As outlined in Arthritis Care and Research and reported by Wayne Kuznar of MedPage Today, “hospitals with higher TSA volume had significantly lower rates of two key surgical complications—post-arthroplasty fracture and revision.” This outcome held despite the fact that the higher volume […]
A Belgium company, Bone Therapeutics, SA, and a company from France, Kasios, are collaborating to develop a product for use in spinal fusion procedures. The collaboration combines Bone Therapeutics allogeneic (meaning cells taken from a healthy universal donor rather than from the patient) osteoblastic cell therapy product called Allob with Kasios’s synthetic micro-granules bone substitute. […]
Invuity, Inc., a surgical photonic company based in San Francisco, California, is launching what it calls a “drop in” light to be used in minimal access surgery. Called the Invuity Waveguide XT System, the new product adds to the company’s photonics-based portfolio. According to the company release, Invuity’s photonics technology delivers visualization of tissue planes, […]
A Colorado Springs surgeon, Ronald Royce, M.D., working with Front Range Orthopaedics on Briargate Parkway, is one of the first in the nation to offer 3-D printed knee implants to his patients. As described by Stephanie Earls, writing for The Gazette, Royce likens selecting a prosthetic to buying a pair of shoes. She quoted Royce […]
All scheduled two-year follow-up patient visits have been completed in Cartiva, Inc’s clinical trial that evaluated the safety and effectiveness of the Cartiva Synthetic Cartilage Implant (SCI). Called the MOTION study, it represents the largest prospective randomized clinical study to date for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the first MTP (metatarsophalangeal) joint—the big toe. “Also […]
The doctor for international tennis star Rafael Nadal has told The Associated Press that he plans to inject stem cells in the players ailing back next week in Barcelona. Nadal is the 14-time Grand Slam winner who won a record ninth French Open this season. Nadal’s doctor, Angel Ruiz-Cotorro, said that the player’s back pain […]
In a first for India, according to the Epress News Service of New Delhi, surgeons removed the fused bones of a 19-year-old boy’s skull and jaw and replaced them with a miniature version of implants used in knee joint replacements. The patient, Shivam Sharma, fractured his jaw when he was 10 when he fell from […]
Researchers at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry have found a new way to regenerate a patient’s jawbone through the use of stem cells. Speaking of this effort, Anthony Atla, M.D., editor-in-chief of Stem Cells Translational Medicine, said, “As the first report to describe a cell therapy for craniofacial trauma reconstruction, this research serves […]
Therapists at Virginia Mason Hospital and Seattle Medical Center have invented a “therapy car” which they use to help patients recovering from hip and knee replacement surgery practice getting in and out of a vehicle without injuring themselves. As Deborah Cutchin, director of the Virginia Mason Kaizen Promotion Office, explained, “A patient with a new […]
Thanks to the release of the first round of data from the American Joint Replacement Registry the United States is beginning to catch up with the UK and Australia who have had such registries for many years. In its report, Modern Healthcare noted that the registry is the “first step toward compiling data that could […]
ZetrOZ, Inc. of Trumbell, Connecticut, has joined with Singapore-based United BMEC to introduce a wearable device for pain relief. Called sam, for “sustained acoustic medicine, ” the device is claimed by its makers to be the first and only multiple hour bio-electronic wearable device for pain. The firm plans to introduce sam at the medical […]
Three–D printing of medical devices is booming. According to Stacy Lawrence, writing for Fierce Medical Devices, “3-D printing business is growing fast and the providers are a volatile bunch for now.” Stratasys has a new partnership with Worrell. Worrell uses Stratasys’ PolyJet-based 3-D printers to create injection molded medical device prototypes faster and cheaper than […]
An Australian study has found that babies born preterm and with a low birth weight are at an increased risk for osteoarthritis (OA) and hip replacement later in life. The study also found that those same babies were not at greater risk of knee joint replacement due to their osteoarthritis as adults. The American College […]
Doctors in Israel have performed their first surgical implant of Aurora Spine’s Zip Ultra Minimally Invasive interspinous device. Professor Reuven Gepstein of the Herzliya Medical Center performed the surgery under local anesthesia. “The Zip Ultra Mis fusion system is a very intuitive and easy to use system that allows me to perform a short and […]
Could stem cells, rocked by sound waves, be the key to creating cartilage to repair damaged knees? That is a possibility according to a team at the University of Southampton, UK, led by Peter Glynne-Jones. According to wrier Sandrine Ceurstemont for New Scientist, the team sent ultrasound waves rocking inside a fluid-filled bioreactor holding cells […]
A menthol gel, which goes by the name of Biofreeze, reduced hand and wrist pain by 31% according to a study published in Rehabilitation Research and Practice. The study was conducted by researchers from the National Research Centre for the Working Environment in Copenhagen, Denmark, and reported by Rachel Lutz, writing for FCP, Live. The […]
An edgy report from Poland of a man, paralyzed for years, who regained sensation in his legs after a nerve-regeneration treatment arouses both hope and concern. The story is written by Benedict Carey for The New York Times. The patient and subject of the story is a 40-year-old man whose spinal column was cut almost […]
What happens to a fractured arm bone in newborn mice? The bone realigns itself, using a previously unknown process of bone growth and muscle contraction. Much is explained in a study published by Cell Press in Developmental Cell including insights into how human infants and other young vertebrates repair their broken bones. “Evolution has created […]
Hospitals are paying about 16% less for one component of a hip implant than they did a year ago, according to Jaimy Lee writing for Modern Healthcare. The evidence that healthcare providers are negotiating lower prices for joint implants comes from the Modern Healthcare/ECRI Institute Technology Price Index. Lee reports that the average price paid […]
Orthopedic surgeon William M. Mihalko, M.D., Ph.D., of Campbell Clinic Orthopaedics in Memphis, Tennessee, lays it on the line. “Obesity, ” he says, can have a significant impact on a patient’s outcome from elective orthopaedic surgery.” He co-authored “Obesity, Orthopaedics and Outcomes, ” a study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic […]
Breg, Inc. of Carlsbad, California and United Orthopedic Group, Inc. (UOG) of Plano, Texas, have merged. The merger creates what the two firms define as a “leading U.S. provider of sports medicine, rehabilitative orthopedic products and services.” The president of Breg, Brad Lee, will be president of the newly combined company. Breg provides sports medicine […]
Stacy Lawrence, writing for Fierce Medical Devices, reports on a Swedish truck driver who is the first in the world to receive a prosthesis that has a direct connection to his bone, nerves and muscle. The prosthesis, called an osseointegrated implant system, responds to the truck driver’s body impulses by means of neuromuscular electrodes. Doctors […]
Blame the genes. Researchers at Penn State College of Medicine have found that the non-healing of fractures in otherwise healthy people may be caused by their genes. J. Spence Reid, M.D., professor of orthopedics and rehabilitation, found associations between certain gene polymorphisms and delayed fracture healing in a sample of patients. “Our study was preliminary […]
Knee replacement patients go home from the hospital sooner, are more satisfied and spend less for their treatment when a physician anesthesiologist coordinates their care. That is the result of a study by researchers at Kaiser Permanente, the nation’s largest Health Maintenance Organization. The researchers collected outcomes data after they had put into practice a […]
More than 90% of potential pediatric fractures are splinted improperly in emergency rooms and urgent care centers, according to a study by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. They are presenting their findings at the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference in San Diego. Improper splinting can lead to swelling and skin […]
Investigators in Tehran have used bio ceramic nanostructured materials to modify implant alloys and successfully create biodegradable implants for jaw and face applications. Though the materials have only been produced on a laboratory scale, where used they have sped up the recovery of broken bones, according to a press release by FARS News Agency. There […]
Attempts to create bone and cartilage using adult stem cells has, so far, not been very successful. Now researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), Monash University and RIKEN Centre for Developmental Biology are claiming a breakthrough. Under the headline “Easy recipe to make bone and cartilage” they say the […]
According to the Sidney, Australia Daily Telegraph, desperate patients are looking to Thailand and other Asian nations for hip and knee replacement surgery. The cost of knee surgery in Thailand is around $10, 000 compared to up to $40, 000 in Australia. Airfares add a couple thousand to the total. According to Bureau of Health […]
Cerapedics, a privately held orthobiologics company located in Westminster, Colorado, is reporting dramatic results from the first clinical study of its i-Factor biologic bone graft that was tested in anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALF). At the end of two years the i-Factor facilitated the successful fusion of up to three vertebrae. Company COO Jeff Marx […]
The patient, Len Chandler, was 71 years old, had already survived prostate cancer, two knee replacements and had lost an eye. Then his doctor told him that he had a cancer-riddled heel and would probably have to lose his leg. The doctor sent Chandler to see orthopedic surgeon Peter Choong, M.D. of St Vincent’s in […]
One million Americans are expected to go abroad for medical care this year, according to David G. Vequist IV, director of the Center for Medical Tourism Research in San Antonio, Texas. That number is up from around 750, 000 in 2013. One of those going abroad for a new knee was 58-year-old Vince Ellis, an […]
Most runners are clueless about what causes injuries in their sport. When researchers asked 95 runners with an average of 3.5 years of running experience and who averaged 35 kilometers (approximately 21.7 miles) of running per week about the cause of running injuries, most got it wrong. According to a piece by Scott Douglas for […]
Histogenics Corporation, a regenerative medicine company, and Intrexon Corporation, a developer of synthetic biology, have formed an Exclusive Channel of Collaboration (ECC) to develop allogeneic chondrocyte cell therapeutics to repair damaged articular hyaline cartilage in humans. Per the press release, “Cartilage damage is a common problem in the U.S. and can be caused by acute […]
Postsurgical patients need to get their sleep. Anya Miller, M.D., a surgeon at Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Michigan, and her colleagues studied 50 patients who had undergone total hip or total knee replacement surgery. These patients were more fortunate than most in that they were housed on a floor of the hospital that observes a […]
To be eligible for the ankle replacement designed by Jonathan Deland, M.D. you must have suffered for some time with ankle pain, failed to improve with bracing or other treatments, be 50 years old or older and have good bone quality and foot alignment, according to a press release from Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS). […]
The writers in Digital Journal are predicting that the orthobiologics market in Asia will grow to around $703.9 million by 2018. Orthobiologics are substances that orthopedic surgeons use to help injuries heal more quickly. They use them to improve the healing of broken bones and injured muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Most biologics are made from […]
The U.S. market for joint replacements will grow to approximately $5 billion by the year 2020, according to iData Research, a global authority in the medical device market. The writers of the report state that growth will come from the increased number of younger patients who received joint replacements in the past two decades. Researchers […]
Thanks to the 510(k) clearance by the Food and Drug Administration, Ellipse Technologies Inc. will be able to market a second, shorter (70mm) actuator as part of its Magec Spinal Bracing and Distraction System. According to company officials, the Magec system provides an alternative to the traditional treatment regimen for early onset scoliosis care which […]
On a site far from any ocean a man is growing coral in a tank with the expectation it will help heal damaged bone. Unlike animal and human bones, coral is not rejected by the body, according to medical experts at the coral-growing company in Israel’s Negev desert called CoreBone. The visionary founder is Assaf […]
In a rare move, the Food and Drug Administration has awarded “fast-track” status to a stem cell therapy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). According to Rhys Baker, writing for BioNews, the treatment uses modified stem calls taken from patients’ bone marrow. The treatment is being developed by an Israeli biotechnology company called BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics […]
Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who have undergone a joint replacement are more likely to be readmitted to a hospital within 90 days than are patients who have osteoarthritis (OA). That is the result of a study in which investigators analyzed 34, 311 joint replacement procedures performed during the three-year period from 2009 to 2011. […]
A patient who developed a skin rash after having a metal rod implanted to repair her fractured ankle alerted researchers to a skin cancer that is linked to a patient’s allergy to a metal orthopedic implant. Some people are allergic to metals such as nickel, cobalt and chromium—the same metals used to make orthopedic implants […]
Bundled payments for joint replacement have come to North Carolina. According to the publication Pharmacy Choice doctors at Charlotte’s OrthoCarolina, one of the region’s largest physicians groups, have adopted a single bill with a “bundled payment” that covers pre-operative care, surgery, and follow-up appointments, 90 days of physical therapy and the services of a “patient […]
The Food and Drug Administration has approved, with its 510(k) clearance, the next generation Surgimap 2.0 platform, made by Nemaris Inc. The Surgimap software, according to the company’s press release, serves more than 2, 000 spine surgeons worldwide. “We are proud to reach this FDA approval milestone as our new platform offers the market’s first […]
Bonesupport, a maker of injectable bone substitutes for orthopedic trauma, has reached the 12-month point for follow-up data on a clinical trial investigating the safety and efficacy of Cerament|G—used to treat chronic bone infection. The data reported on a series of 41 patients with chronic osteomyelitis present for a mean of 10.4 years. Thirty-two of […]
The treatment was first used on injured racehorses. Veterinarians had injected the animals with their own stem cells in an attempt to heal inflamed tendons. If it works on injured racehorses, why not try it on humans? Tendons are notoriously difficult to treat as they have a poor blood supply. The horses had appeared to […]
With a chunk of change—about $625, 000 in federal and state grants—a NASA related industry is funding ZetrOZ, Inc.’s work in sustained acoustic medicine (SAM) ultrasound technology. ZetrOZ is developing wearable sustained acoustic medicine devices that can be self-applied, are non-invasive, and can treat lower back pain and pain caused by herniated spinal discs—particularly those […]
Orthopedic surgeon Roger Jaeken, M.D., at Holy Family General Hospital in Reet, Belgium, has successfully performed the first total knee surgery that was preplanned with the Materialise, N.V.’s X-ray knee guide solution. This new technology allows for the preplanning of knee replacement surgeries as well as the 3D printing of surgical guides, solely on the […]
Officials of the regenerative medicine company Regeneus Ltd have announced plans to open a HiQCell regenerative medicine clinic in Singapore in late 2014. They have named the sports medicine physician Patrick Goh, M.D. as Medical Director. Goh has a lengthy resume. He was chief medical officer for Team Singapore during the 2000 and 2004 Olympic […]
NovaBone Products, LLC, a biomaterials company located in Jacksonville, Florida, is expanding its portfolio of bioactive bone void fills with two new products based on the combination of bioactive glass and bovine collagen. The products are called MacroFORM Packable Graft and MacroFORM Composite. The first combines 85% bioactive ingredient with collagen in a mixing cup […]
Amedica Corporation, the leading developer of innovative forms of silicon nitride ceramics has entered into a multi-year private labeling agreement with Spinal Kinetics, Inc., one of the leading innovators of artificial spinal disc technology. Amedica will now provide Spinal Kinetics with sterile packed silicon nitride spinal interbody fusion devices for sale in worldwide markets. This […]
At any given time, patients at the Mayo Clinic, headquartered in Rochester, Minnesota, are participating in 8, 000 clinical trials. Beginning next year the process of matching patients to appropriate trials—currently done manually—will be taken over by Watson, IBM.s supercomputer. The plan is for Watson to take over much of the work of comparing a […]
The treatment of a broken bone usually involves the doctor forcing the displaced bones back into place, with or without anesthetic, stabilizing their position and then waiting for the bone’s natural healing process to take over. That healing process is significantly speeded up if the patient receives good nutrition, according to a report by Med […]
In a “first” for stem cell therapy, the Ocala, Florida based Biologic Therapies, Inc. successfully treated a patient’s chronically injured Achilles tendon with an injection of stem cells. Biologic Therapies’ Chief Medical Director R. Wade McKenna, M.D. and Chief Scientific Officer Neil H. Riordan, M.D. founders of the Riordan-McKenna Institute in Southlake, Texas, authored the […]
Orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist David Geier, M.D., asks the question, “Would you let your son play football?” The question was prompted by the fact that amid all the recent uproar in the National Football league (NFL) over child abuse and domestic violence scandals was hidden the admission by the NFL that it expects […]
Do wearable activity trackers translate into better health and wellness for their wearers? (A confession: your writer wears a Fitbit on her wrist set for 10, 000 steps daily.) A study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research concluded that although trackers use evidence-based behavior techniques, according to writer Darius Tahir in Modern HealthCare, […]
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and a company providing bone and soft tissue allografts for use in surgical procedures would seem to be strange–if not incompatible—bedfellows. But that is not the case. Thanks to match-making by the Colorado Association for Manufacturing and Technology (CAMT)—now called Manufacturer’s Edge—AlloSource and NASA have become partners. AlloSource, […]
Christmas will arrive early for a few joint replacement patients who will get their surgery free of charge at Franklin Hospital in Valley Stream or Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan. The two hospitals will provide the operations for a few needy patients who are either uninsured or underinsured. Both hospitals are part of the North […]
Cartilage is to blame after all. Once believed to be an innocent bystander in cases of rheumatoid arthritis, researchers in Melbourne, Australia, find that cartilage plays an active role in the destruction of joints. As reported by Allan Gill of Medical Press, a team of researchers from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute made the […]
Proception Medical, LLC is a medical device developer and incubator which, according to its founder, licenses commercially viable inventions from surgeon inventors, helps develop them, obtains the necessary commercialization approvals and then takes them through a limited launch. Proception has recently entered into exclusive agreements with two physician inventors for the development of their medical […]
Newer is not always better where joint replacements are concerned. In some cases, the latest design on the market may be inferior. When Art Sedrakyan, M.D., Ph.D., of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, and colleagues examined hip replacements with modular femoral necks, a new device technology, they found that the cumulative rates […]
An Atlanta startup is hoping to change the way athletes treat their sore muscles. Called Impact Cryotherapy, the company has developed a chamber that provides a treatment comparable to a 20-minute ice bath but it takes only three minutes. Atlanta Business Chronicle writer Ellie Hensley explains how it works. Users step into a container that […]
A group of surgeons in the south of India were recently confronted with a three-year-old girl suffering from a condition called craniosynostosis—a premature ossification of the bones in an infant skull where the joints between the bones fuse together in an abnormal way. Unless it was surgically corrected, the girl’s brain growth and mental development […]
In what could be called a genuine “breakthrough, ” scientists at the Medical Research Council at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, have produced the seed cells of the human spinal cord in a petri dish. They did it by mimicking the natural development of the spinal cord in the human embryo. During embryo growth the […]
Is it a concussion or a neck Injury? John J. Leddy, M.D., clinical professor of orthopedics at the University of Buffalo, has found that it is difficult to distinguish between concussion injuries and neck injuries based on symptoms alone. “I think a lot of practitioners listen to the symptoms and just chalk it up to […]
In what is good news for the medical device industry, a recall consultancy firm’s study reports that the medical device industry has experienced its lowest number of medical device recalls since 2012. There were 275 recalls of devices from 148 different companies, according to the 15-page report prepared by Stericycle. The report was based on […]
The good news is that most athletes who undergo anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction surgery return to some form of sport. The bad news is that only 55% will return to competitive level sports, according to Kathryn Doyle, writing in Reuters Health about a study conducted in Australia. Ph.D. student Clare L. Ardern of the […]
Because they have a national registry, researchers in the UK have learned that mortality after hip and knee replacement surgery in England, Wales and Northern Ireland has dropped by half in the eight years since 2003. Zasia Kmietowjcz, writing for the British Medical Journal (BMJ), reports that 90-day mortality rates after hip replacements fell from […]
The United States, already the most obese nation in the world, is fatter now than it has ever been. That is the disturbing word from Katie Sullivan, commenting on reports from the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation and the Trust for America’s Health. The states of Mississippi and West Virginia are in a tie for the […]
Everyone who works with stem cells knows that human pluripotent stem cells can become any of the 220 cells in the body. Undifferentiated cells are influenced by the chemicals in the lab dish in which they are grown. By using different chemicals, researchers can direct the cells to become whatever kind of cells they want. […]
An Israeli Company, Syqe Medical, has developed a hand-held device that delivers a controlled dose of cannabis. According to Emily Wasserman, writing for Fierce Medical, the palm-sized inhaler requires a fraction of the cannabis usually prescribed monthly for pain. The inhaler works by vaporizing tiny granules of cannabis in doses as small as 1 mg […]
For the second consecutive year the Winnipeg (Canada) Regional Health Authority (WHRA) has told orthopedic surgeons at Concordia Hospital to slow down the number of hip and knee replacements they are performing to stay within budget. The Concordia team, which operates in a state-of-the-art facility that opened in 2009, is once again on schedule to […]
CartiHeal, Ltd. has been awarded four patents, three by the U.S. Patent Office and one by Japan’s, for its cell-free, off-the-shelf cartilage regeneration technology for patients with injuries to the articular surface of joints. CartiHeal is a privately held medical device company headquartered in Kfar Saba, Israel. The patents describe the use of coral scaffolds, […]
The Brits do it. The Australians do it. So why does the U.S. trail in tracking the performance of medical devices through registries? Organizations such as the Pew Charitable Trust, Blue Cross and Blue Shield and the Science Infrastructure Center run by Weill Cornell Medical College’s Medical Device Epidemiology Network are leaning on the Food […]
Houston Methodist surgeon and foot and ankle specialist Kevin Varner, M.D. uses the percutaneous Achilles repair system, called PARS, to repair torn tendons through small incisions. He explained to News Medical, “The Achilles does not tear cleanly. Rather it shreds like a mop, so without proper treatment, it just becomes a ball of fibers, ” […]
It’s guaranteed! Virginia Mason Medical Center of Seattle, Washington, is offering a surgical warranty for hip and knee replacement surgery. According to its news release, the warranty protects patients, insurance providers and employers from incurring additional costs for the treatment of avoidable, surgery-related complications. The warranty covers the full range of care—diagnosis, surgery and rehabilitation—for […]
Some U.S. surgeons are offering their patients the option of a custom-made joint implant using 3-D technology. One of those is Vivek Neginhal, M.D., of Scott Orthopedic Center in Huntington, West Virginia., who also serves as director of St. Mary’s Regional Joint Replacement Center. This year he began creating an exact custom implant created through […]
Regulatory officials in Europe have granted the CE mark to Ranier Technology Limited’s fusion cage made of its proprietary polymeric material. Called the Anatom-C, the material has a stiffness specifically selected to match the stiffness of cancellous bone, according to Ranier’s press release. Company officials note that standard fusion cages have been made from materials […]
Ortho Development Corporation, of Draper, Utah, has received clearance from the Food and Drug Administration for its Alpine Hip Stem. The Alpine Hip Stem is intended for use in total hip arthroplasty and hemiarthroplasty procedures. Company officials say that the firm’s engineers developed the Alpine based on the clinically-proven, conical tapered hip stem philosophy. Design […]
A new study by university researchers in the United Kingdom has identified a computerized system that will improve the success of knee revision surgeries and perhaps even help to prevent them. The underlying problem it addresses is osteoarthritis, the degeneration of joint cartilage and bone—the world’s most common musculoskeletal disease. The World Health Organization predicts […]
Researchers at the University Hospital of Basal, Switzerland, have taken cartilage cells from nasal septums and used them to generate new cartilage for placement in damaged knees. As reported by Joseph Keenan, of Fierce Medical Devices, doctors took cells from the nasal septums of seven patients and, after the cultures multiplied, applied them to a […]
Edge Orthopaedics of Boonton, New Jersey, has received its second U. S. Food and Drug Administration 510(k) clearance for its View Plating System and for its Reduce Fracture Plating System. The View system includes anatomic plates to support multiple indications within the mid-foot while the Reduce Fracture system offers surgeons a wide range of low-profile […]
Mental attitudes make a difference—sometimes a big one, according to Esther Yakobov, a doctoral student in clinical psychology at McGill University in Montreal. She found that people who blame others for their suffering and experience life as being unfair to them experience more pain after knee replacement surgery than do those with a different outlook. […]
How do you get harried health workers to wash their hands—every time they leave a patient’s room? Margaret Rhodes, writing for Wired, reports that on average hospital workers wash their hands only from 10% to 50% of the time when they enter or exist a patient’s room. That has led to almost 75, 000 deaths […]
The Chinese are forging ahead with 3-D printed implants. Forbes Magazine and Emily Wasserman, writing for Fierce Medical Devices, both report that doctors at Beijing’s Peking University replaced a cancerous vertebra in a 12-year-old boy’s spinal cord with a 3-D piece that they created from titanium powder. The implant was made with small pores which […]
Ampio Pharmaceuticals, a clinical trial stage biopharmaceutical company based in Englewood, Colorado, has announced the six-week results of the open label portion of its trial of multiple injections of Ampion™ into the knees of patients with osteoarthritis. This is the first part of the study, which involved patients receiving a series of three injections; the […]
A growing number of hospitals are excusing sales representatives from the operating room and are educating their own employees to provide technical assistance to doctors during surgery, writes Jaimy Lee in Modern Healthcare. Representatives from medical device manufacturers have, in the past, routinely been present in operating rooms to reply to questions about the product […]
Angiocrine Bioscience, Inc., a privately held biotech company located in New York City, has licensed the rights to a new technology developed by a team of researchers at the Ansary Stem Cell Institute at Weill Cornell Medical College. The new technology provides a means of converting a patient’s own vascular cells (endothelial cells) directly into […]
One third of the records will be withheld when the federal government publishes data about payments to physicians from pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, according to Charles Ornstein, writing for ProPublica. The reason? Data inconsistencies. The problem came to light when officials of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) looked into a physician’s […]
A study of 872, 116 total hip and knee replacement procedures performed at 510 U.S. hospitals between 2006 and 2012 revealed that doctors were doing the right thing where management of blood was concerned. Under examination was the use of a decades-old clotting drug that, while it reduced the need for blood transfusions during and […]
The chemical engineers at MIT were out to create a replacement for bone. The current standard for treating bone injuries is to remove a piece of bone from another part of the body and transplant it into the site of the injury. This painful process does not always work well. The MIT engineers set out […]
How should surgeons treat a horizontal meniscus tear? They often perform a meniscectomy—the partial removal of the meniscus—based on the belief that repair of the meniscus itself is not effective for tears of this type. To investigate the issue more closely, Centerix Orthopaedics, Inc. sponsored a literature review of clinical studies concerned with the repair […]
One day, not too far into the future, your sweat from a morning run may charge-up your smart phone—or other electrical devices. A team at the University of California, led by Joseph Wang, Distinguished Professor and Chair of Nanoengineering, has produced “the first examples of epidermal electrochemical biosensing and biofuel cells that could potentially be […]
Perplexed about the cost of medical care? Roni Caryn Rabin, writing for Kaiser Health News, revealed that one California hospital charged $10 for a blood cholesterol test while another hospital in the same state ran the same test and charged $10, 169 for it. That was 1, 000 times more. Another common test, the basic […]
Medical device companies hoping to do business in China will meet increased competition from homegrown products, according to Emily Wasserman, writing for the online journal Fierce Medical Devices. The Chinese Health Ministry, condemning “unreasonable increases” in the cost of foreign-made products, is urging local hospitals to use Chinese-made devices. Global device makers are now reported […]
Patients undergoing joint replacement surgery will benefit from taking a clotting drug before their operation, according to data examined on 900, 000 patients who had hip or knee replacements at 510 U.S. hospitals between 2006 and 2012. The researchers’ study “found that the use of tranexamic acid was associated with a 69% reduction in the […]
An August 12 company news release from Cellular Biomedicine Group, Inc. (CBMG) announced that it has completed phase IIb of its clinical trial of Rejointherapy for knee osteoarthritis. Purpose of the trial was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of CBMG’s proprietary adipose-derived mesenchymal precursor cell based therapy ReJoin for knee osteoarthritis. The Phase IIb […]
Although some young athletes attempt to gain elite skills early on, they would be better served if they delayed intensive training in a single sport until adolescence. That is the advice of sports medicine physician Chris Liebig, M.D., with Akron Children’s Hospital, Mahoning Valley, Ohio. “If you are becoming too specialized too soon you are […]
Surgery to mend severe heel fractures is no more effective than non-surgical treatment. That is the word from a trial, one of the largest of its kind ever performed in orthopedic surgery, according to Damian Griffin, M.D., professor of trauma and orthopaedic surgery at Warwick Medical School, United Kingdom. The trial involved 150 patients who […]
The headless 3 millimeter compression screw placed in a hip or knee costs $385 from one leading manufacturer. An upstart, based in Portland, Oregon, is selling that same screw for $90—a 76% reduction. Elizabeth Hayes, staff reporter for the Portland Business Journal, tells the story of Impact Medical and its founder and CEO, E.J. Duffy, […]
Carpal tunnel syndrome, besides being due to repetitive strain, may also be caused by hypothyroidism, according to a paper by doctors at Holtorf Medical Group, located in five cities around the U.S. They write that some hypothyroidism patients who struggle with carpal tunnel syndrome, “do not realize that there is a key connection between this […]
Because of the risks involved in playing football and heightened concerns over concussions, New York City high school students who want to play the game now must get a medical clearance. Testing is being provided free of charge by sports medicine specialists, primary care physicians, therapists and other health professionals at the highly regarded Hospital […]
Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation has completed its multicenter clinical trial evaluating the safety and effectiveness of the Integra Dermal Regeneration Template for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers. It is also known as the DFU study. Integra Dermal Regeneration Template is a bi-layer skin replacement system designed to provide immediate wound closure and permanent regeneration […]
The centers of teeth house nerves but they also contain stem cells. Research from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm has revealed that the stem cells in teeth may have developed from nervous system cells. The study was reported on ScienceMag.org. According to writer Sarah C. P. Williams, investigators in the Stockholm study were following glial […]
Work that Hungarian chemist Zoltan Takats began in 2002 in the United States and worked on at the Budapest Semmelweis Medical University and the Imperial College, London, has been acquired by U.S.-based firm Waters Corporation from Hungarian start-up firm MediMass Ltd. Called Rapid Evaporative Ionization Mass Spectrometry, the device is a knife that, in the […]
Since December 2013, more than 50% of the 400 hip and knee replacements Craig McAllister, M.D. has performed have been done on an outpatient basis. This is a rate that, according to McAllister, leads national trends and is greater than the 10-year forecast nationwide. He told a reporter for Kirkland News that, “Patients are happier, […]
Jack O’Mahony, a veteran with more than 40 years of experience in senior management positions in the global medical device industry, has joined the Global Orthopaedic Technology (Global) Board of Directors.
It took a long time but the U.S. Federal Drug Administration finally approved Medicrea Group’s K-JAWS Cervical Compression Staple for all cervical fixation indications carried out with interbody cages. The company will be able to market its device in the United States after what its chairman, Denys Sournad, described as “the longest and most complex […]
Research by Katherine Snedaker, a concussion awareness expert, found that female athletes are more likely than males to get a concussion—and they take longer to recover, according to Kara Pappas, of the Youngstown, Ohio, Vindicator. From 1997 to 2012 doctors in emergency rooms treated nearly 1.2 million girls and women for sports-related concussions, according to […]
Chicago orthopedic surgeon, Mitchell Sheinkop, M.D., in collaboration with Regenerative Sciences, Inc., is seeking qualified candidates in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan for a clinical trial comparing the efficacy of stem cell therapy to traditional treatments for degenerative knee conditions. Regenerative Sciences, Inc. is a Colorado-based company that specializes in regenerative orthopedic medicine. Sheinkop is […]
Runners hurt their knees more often than they do any other part of their body. And the most common knee injury is patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS). Matt Fitzgerald, a training intelligence specialist for PEAR Sports, says that orthopedists used to believe that PFPS was associated with chondromalacia, or fissuring of the cartilage in the joint. […]
Houston, Texas, surgeon David Lintner, M.D., uses a slurry of stem cells to aid healing after his repair of a torn rotator-cuff. As reported on July 23 by Kyrie O’Connor for Chron (Houston Chronicle), Linter drills holes in his patient’s bone and extracts bone marrow. While Lintner is suturing the muscles and tendons that keep […]
The debate goes on—which is better, a partial knee replacement (UKR) or a total knee replacement (TKR). A study out of Oxford University in England comes down on the side of the partial knee surgery but with some concerns. Researchers matched 25, 334 UKRs to 75, 996 TKRs on the basis of propensity score. They […]
Doctors should reach around and pat themselves on the back. There are more doctors—twice as many as the general public—who are registered organ donors. That information came out of a study authored by Alvin Ho-ting Li. He cross-referenced data on 15, 000 active physicians in Ontario, Canada, in 2013 and matched them with 60, 000 […]
It was bound to come—a smart bandage that could monitor whatever was happening to the patient beneath it. A group of scientists at the National Taiwan University in Taipei have developed Bioscope. Bioscope is a bandage that tracks a hospital patient’s vital signs—temperature, heartbeat, movement—and wirelessly transmits the information to a computer. Sensor modules are […]
It undoubtedly all started when George K. Lewis, a director of the Analogic Corporation, Peabody, Massachusetts, took his middle school age son, George, Jr. to work with him. He set young Lewis up at a lab bench with other technicians, introduced him to electronics and soon had him wiring and soldering together his inventions. Lewis, […]
Surgeons at a United Kingdom hospital are pioneering a new treatment that they hope will prevent the development of arthritis and extend athletes’ sporting careers. The procedure, called ABICUS (Autologous Bone Marrow Implantation of Cells University Hospital Southampton), involves coating damaged cartilage with stem cells, taken from a patient’s hip, and mixed with gels, acids […]
Anna Bernasek, writing in Newsweek Magazine, calls for more transparency by hospitals and doctors in their pricing of surgical procedures. In support of her call she quotes NerdWallet Health, which tracks 3, 200 hospitals and reports that the average cost of a hip or knee replacement at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Yonkers, New York, […]
Zack Budryk, a writer for MedScape, asks the question, noting that in 2010 the medical specialties with the highest number of over-55 practicing practitioners were in thoracic surgery, 51.6%, orthopedic surgery, 49.7% and urology, 49.3%. An analysis of 460, 000 Medicare surgical patients found that complex procedures had higher mortality rates for surgeons over 60 […]
Vinod Dasa, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon at Louisiana’s State University (LSU) Health Sciences Center, is pioneering the use of iOvera, a nonsurgical pain treatment for patients with arthritis and other knee and joint issues. He sees the use of iOvera as helping close a growing gap between some arthritis patients’ budgets and the treatments available […]
In what is good news for older Americans, a study has found that mortality and complication rates are going down for total hip (THR) and total knee (TKR) replacement surgeries among patients over 80 years of age. The same is true for older patients having spinal fusion surgeries. “Based on the results of this study, […]
Rocky Tuan, M.D., director of the center for Cellular and Molecular Engineering and executive vice chairman for orthopedic research at the University Of Pittsburgh School Of Medicine, has reported using a novel 3D printing method to create the first example of a model for living human cartilage grown on a laboratory chip, according to Elizabeth […]
Watch out for the boys of summer. A recent study examined 95 patients from 8 to 17 years of age who were all found to be suffering from Little League Shoulder (LLS). The subjects came from a single pediatric referral center between the years 1999 and 2013. According to a report by the American Orthopaedic […]
Some clever engineers at MIT have developed a device that, when worn on the wrist, gives its wearer an extra pair of fingers. The device uses a unique algorithm to mimic human movement, according to Joseph Kenan, writing for Fierce Medical Devices. Called” Supernumerary Robotic Fingers” the invention consists of levers linked together that can […]
Urgent care franchises (aka: “Doc in a Box”) are studying fast food organizations, such as McDonald’s, to help them learn how to deliver health care with the same efficiency as the fast food industry does its products but at significantly lower cost and with better service (maximum 15 minute waits to see a physician and […]
According to a new market research report published by Transparency Market Research, the regenerative medicine (bone and joint) market was valued at $2.6 billion in 2012 and is estimated to reach a market worth of $6.5 billion by 2019. That is a growth rate of 12.8% from 2013 to 2019. Regenerative medicine is defined as […]
Breg, Inc., of Carlsbad, California, has launched a knee brace that, it claims, will help the 2.5 million runners who annually suffer from patella mal-tracking to return to their former active lifestyles. Called the FreeRunner, its maker claims that the brace acts on the anatomy of the knee in a manner different from other knee […]
The patient wore an Oculus Rift virtual reality headset while the surgeon put on a Google Glass. The patient, a 62-year-old woman, wore the headset to ease her anxiety about the upcoming knee replacement surgery. The surgeon wore the Glass to stream the surgery to watching medical students. The surgeon was Gerardo Garces, M.D. and […]
Dark chocolate lovers rejoice. Researchers have found that eating dark chocolate may help people with peripheral artery disease (PAD) walk a little better. While the study was small with only 20 participants—14 men and six women—the results were clear. The eaters of the dark chocolate showed an 11% increase in their maximum walking distance compared […]
When stem cell therapy goes astray it often does so in a dramatic way. A failed stem cell treatment, intended to cure paralysis, left a woman with a mucus-secreting nose growing on her back. About 11 years ago an 18-year-old woman sustained a complete spinal cord injury at T-10 and 11. After three years, during […]
A study conducted at the Heart Center of the University of Cologne in Germany demonstrated a relationship between bone mineral density and heart failure. Todd Neale, a senior staff writer for MedPage Today, reported on the study. The researchers, led by Roman Pfister, M.D., found that for every one standard deviation increase in bone mineral […]
Is shoulder surgery a game-ender for players in the NFL? Not according to a study of 60 players who had shoulder stabilization surgery. Ninety percent of those who had this procedure successfully returned to play. The return rate was 82% for those who had open surgery and 92% for those who had minimally invasive surgery. […]
The injuries sustained by rodeo riders are among the most challenging faced by the doctors who work to keep the cowboys riding. Jessica Barrett, writing in the Calgary Herald, says rodeo riding is one of the toughest sports there is on the human body. She quotes Cooper Davis who broke his jaw, his shoulder and […]
Medical students, working as volunteers with a hospital’s orthopedic department, have established a program to help people stop smoking. Their timing is impeccable. It has been 50 years since the surgeon general of the United States issued his proclamation on the hazards to human health of smoking. Yet smoking remains the leading cause of preventable […]
Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a development stage biopharmaceutical company in Greenwood Village, Colorado, is enrolling patients with severe osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee in Phase I and Phase II clinical trials. The Phase I trial will evaluate safety and pain reduction as a result of injections of Ampion. Phase II will evaluate efficacy and cartilage formation. […]
What group, in the whole world, suffers from the most degenerative knee problems? The answer? Muslims in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Why? Because of a kneeling-to-pray culture. Jennifer Bell, writing in The National, quotes Peter Birch, a consultant orthopedic and knee arthroplasty surgeon at Abu Dhabi’s Mafraq Hospital, as saying, “In the UAE, knee […]
Garages and basements are iconic and sacred spaces in the history of technology. Ever since the September day in 1998 when the founders of Google set up workspace in Susan Wojcicki’s garage on Santa Margarita Avenue in Menlo Park, young men have pursued their disruptive technology dreams in just such spaces. Three such young men […]
It has been 46 years since surgeons first performed a knee replacement surgery, according to Mail Online, a journal published in the United Kingdom. The publication reports that knee replacement surgery has become more accurate and less painful through the use of movement sensors by Zimmer, Inc. called iASSIST. As writer Carol Davis explained, if […]
Intravenous iron can be used to effectively label stem cell transplants so they can be tracked in target tissues—such as arthritic joints—according to a recent study conducted at Stanford University School of Medicine. According to the study, intravenous iron can be utilized to effectively label stem cell transplants so they can be tracked in target […]
Salt Lake City, Utah-based Amedica Corporation, a biomaterial company that uses silicon nitride technology to develop medical devices, has secured up to $26 million in additional funding. The funding consists of $20 million debt financing with Hercules Technology Growth Capital, Inc. and a private placement to MG Partners II Ltd. of 6% Senior Convertible Notes […]
Physicians often suggest to their patients with knee and hip problems that they delay resorting to artificial joints for as long as possible, according to a report in the Boston Globe. Their doctors urge them to try less invasive treatments first—in part because surgery brings its own risks and the process of rehabilitation after surgery […]
The aggressive promotion of fashionable shoes has the members of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons (ACFAS) concerned. As reported by HealthNewsDigest.com women in increasing numbers are turning to foot surgery to enable them to squeeze their feet into high-fashion shoes. They are shortening toes, having bunions removed and hammertoes corrected, fillers injected […]
In a first for bone tissue repair, researchers at the University of Rochester, New York, have encased regenerative stem cells in a hydrophilic polymer. This prevented the stem cells from leaving a repair site in the body early and speeded up the healing process, according to Vaun Saxena, writing for Fierce Drug Delivery. Hydrogels are […]
There are apps for almost everything. Now there is one for baseball pitchers who hope to reduce the likelihood of injuries to their pitching arms. Called “Throw like a Pro, ” the app is the result of a collaboration between James Andrews, M.D. and Kevin Wilk, M.D. who are leading experts on overuse injuries in […]
A National Health Service survey (NHS), reported in the British Journal Bone and Joint, found that hip and knee replacements rated higher on a customer satisfaction measure than did such consumer items as cell phones. The survey used the corporate sector’s “net promoter score” method, which records whether people would recommend a product or service […]
Dubai is rolling out medical tourism packages. While Dubai is becoming more expensive for hotel guests, it is perceived as having an edge over other medical tourism destinations—such as Bangkok or New Delhi—in terms of security, shopping and leisure activities. “What is important is the delivery of more mid-market and longer stay accommodations proximate to […]
Doctors are divided on the benefits of platelet-rich plasma injections to treat hamstring muscle injuries. Hamstrings are the muscles located at the back of the thigh that are essential for flexing the hip and knee. Gustaaf Reurink, a sports medicine specialist with Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, conducted a study in which researchers […]
Surgeons at Morriston Hospital, South Wales, have cut the time it takes to carry out total knee replacement (TKR) surgery by a third. Instead of the operation taking an average of 42 minutes, it can now be completed in just 27 minutes. “It is designed to increase efficiency and to get more replacements done. We […]
If you want to shave about eight hours off your hospital stay after getting a hip repaired, tell the doctor you want a regional rather than a general anesthetic. For a regional anesthetic, the surgeon will direct the anesthesia directly to the affected part of the body. While you will be awake and aware of […]
Bone Therapeutics, SA, a regenerative therapy company located in Gosselies, Belgium, has treated its first patient with its allogeneic osteoblastic (bone-forming) product Allob. According to company officials, Allob is the first allogeneic differentiated osteoblastic cell therapy product to be developed for the treatment of orthopedic conditions. Treatment of this patient is part of the company’s […]
Everyone knows that walking is good for you. But what if one has osteoarthritis (OA)? Won’t walking further damage compromised joints? According to a study by physical therapist Daniel K. White, Sc.D., PT, of Boston University, and his colleagues, the opposite is true. People with osteoarthritis can decrease the possibility of developing physical limitations by […]
Researchers at The Children’s Medical Center Research Institute (CRI) at the University of Texas, Dallas, have discovered a biomarker on mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that significantly advances the field of MSC biology and may have dramatic implications for further research. According to the CRI press release, the biomarker enables researchers to accurately characterize the properties […]
Doctors are planning to send bone marrow-derived stem cells into space to help them grow faster, according to Margo Kim, reporting from Fresno, California. Experiments have demonstrated that stem cells can grow from five to ten times faster in microgravity than they do on Earth. This is compelling information for Abba Zubair, M.D., Ph.D., medical […]
The U.S. Patent Office has granted CollPlant Ltd a patent covering processing methods for making human collagen from plants. Collagen is the most common protein in the human body. CollPlant’s technology is based on the production of human collagen through the genetic engineering of tobacco plants by implanting five genes in them that are found […]
We read a lot about the costs of medical technology to patient care but a closer look reveals that medical technology prices in the United States have remained consistently low for 20 years. According to Jeffrey R. Binder, president and CEO of Biomet Inc. and a member of the board of directors at the Advanced […]
A new product designed to provide a one-stage process for dealing with bone infections is to undergo a trial at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois in Lausanne, Switzerland. The product is called CERAMENT™|G Bone Healing and it is made by BONESUPPORT AB of Lund, Sweden, with subsidiary locations in the United States and Germany. Current […]
An Israeli company is tackling a long-term problem faced by patients who receive a total hip replacement (THR). The company is M.M.A. Tech Ltd and the problem is that the wear created by the articulating components of an artificial hip joint can lead to complications including inflammation around the implant, pain and revision surgery after […]
A clinical trial of human adipose-derived mesenchymal cell (haMPC) therapy for knee osteoarthritis (KOA) has shown positive results with some patient cartilage showing regrowth within three months. Cellular Biomedical Group, Inc. of Palo Alta, California (CBMG) is reporting on the Phase I/II clinical trials at Shanghai Renji Hospital, China. According to the company, the primary […]
Spectators scanning the sidelines during World Cup Soccer matches may note a new component positioned at the ready when Argentina’s team takes to the field. The device is a blue and white box with an opening into which a player can insert his leg for faster diagnoses of injuries. Called Esaote’s O-Scan, the device is […]
You a beginning runner? Then beware of shin splints. Researchers in Denmark followed 933 beginning runners for an entire year to find out what injuries they experienced and how long it took them to get over them. The most common injury was shin splints and 27% of the 933 runners suffered from them. The average […]
What are orexins? They are a type of protein that nerve cells use to communicate with each other. Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, working with Yihong Wan, M.D., have found that mice lacking orexins have very thin fragile bones that break easily. They found that the bones have fewer […]
That geeky-looking Google Glass hanging to the side of a pair of spectacles is appearing on more and more of the brows of physicians. Christina Farr, writing for Reuters, reports that a company in Mountain View, California, has developed what it calls the “first wearable health record.” The company is drchrono, Inc. and it specializes […]
University College London Business, the technology transfer company of University College London, has concluded an exclusive licensing agreement with Collagen Solutions plc. Collagen Solutions is the developer and manufacturer of medical grade collagen components for use in regenerative medicine, medical devices and in vitro diagnostics. College officials believe the process is a breakthrough platform technology […]
The Orthopedics and Tissue Technologies group of Integra LifeSciences Holding Corporation has signed a three-year group purchasing contract with Premier, Inc. The agreement will offer small bone orthopedic implants to Premier alliance members. “I’m confident this newly established partnership will allow us to build a strong and lasting relationship with Premier, ” said Mark Augusti, […]
Researchers have found a correlation between the presence of biomarkers in the blood, known as micro RNAs (miRNAs), and the development of severe osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee or hip joint. This is the first study of a large population-based cohort to identify differentially expressed miRNAs in osteoarthritis patients. It was led by Christian Beyer, […]
Is there an optimum time—a window of opportunity—for a patient to get a hip or knee joint replaced? Data from a joint replacement monitoring program and database at UMass Medical School says “yes” and that waiting too long will reduce the benefits of surgery. “Don’t wait until you can’t walk or take the pain any […]
Complications from diabetes increase the risk of infection after surgery on feet and ankles, according to a study that appeared in a recent issue of the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. As reported by Brenda Naugent in Diabetes Health, type 2 diabetes patients with complications that include such ailments as diabetic peripheral neuropathy or […]
It was frustration over long patient wait times in the public health care system that prompted Dr. Nicolas Duval and his wife Dr. Pauine Lavoie to drop out of the public system and go private in 2002. “I had patients waiting up to two years for a hip replacement, ” said Duval. The two now […]
Arthrosurface, Inc., a developer of joint restoration systems, has performed its first ToeMotion total toe surgery. Carl Hasselman, M.D., at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center combined the new phalangeal implant with the HemiCAP metatarsal implants to create a total toe joint restoration. “I have known for quite some time that the screw based fixation […]
More knees are being replaced in the U.S. than are hips and Peter B. Derman, M.D., MBA, an orthopedic surgery resident at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, wondered why. So he conducted a study and found that the increase in the number of overweight and obese people in the United States accounted […]
Stem cells do not always stay where they are put. When they are used to regenerate tissue, many wind up migrating away from the repair site, which disrupts the healing process. Researchers at the University of Rochester, under the direction of Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering Danielle Benoit, Ph.D., have developed a technique that keeps […]
Surgical site infections (SSI) occur in 0.7% of knee replacement surgeries and in 1% of hip replacements. SSI’s are the most common cause for rejection of the prostheses in hip replacement surgery, according to a number of studies presented in London at a conference of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). A […]
To which political party do doctors give their money—Democrats or Republicans? And is the existing pattern of donations changing? A study by the American Medical Association says that physicians are indeed becoming more political. Paul Demko, writing for Modern HealthCare and quoting the study, points out that physicians are much more likely to make political […]
What city in America has the fittest population? According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) report, the fittest city, this year, is Washington, DC. The rating system, called the “index” was started in 2008 and concerns such issues as chronic diseases, access to health care, the level of obesity and policies that support […]
When Peter Cole started his quest no medical text chapter had yet been written about the scapula fracture repair. Today, with more than 30 peer reviewed articles to his credit, Cole is the King of Scapula Repair. This is a story every orthopedist should read.
Hospitals are buying up medical practices. Richard Gunderson, writing in The Atlantic, reports that the number of physicians employed by hospitals grew by 34% between 2000 and 2010. In 2004 hospital human resources departments conducted only 11% of physician searches. Today that figure is 63%. Hospital administrators argue that by employing their own physicians, their […]
What are sonic tweezers? From Nanowerk News, an IT publication in the United Kingdom, comes a description that says that sonic/electronic tweezers are gravity-beating ultrasound beams that can grip and hold tiny clusters of cells. Cells in the grip of such devices can be levitated for weeks in a nutrient-rich fluid and be stimulated to […]
The Illinois legislature, in 2012, removed podiatry and dental care benefits from Medicaid. In 2014 legislators restored the benefits. The Weil Foot and Ankle Institute was a strong backer of the campaign to convince lawmakers to bring back the benefits for podiatry. “It has been two years since Medicaid patients over the age of 21 […]
A team of scientists from Harvard University has demonstrated that the application of low-power laser light can trigger stem cells in the body to regenerate tissue. Mark Hawver, writing for Tech Times, explained how David J. Mooney, Ph.D., professor of bioengineering, and his team used laser light to trigger human dental stem cells to form […]
Ankles appear to be the “Achilles heels” for professional athletes. Or perhaps damaged ankles should be considered the final obstacle athletes must overcome to finally get back on the field. Cam Newton, Carolina’s ProBowl quarterback, had surgery to relieve chronic pain in his left ankle and had been expected to miss four months. Now, however, […]
Medicare has announced plans to penalize 2, 633 hospitals for giving follow-up care to seniors, even if the care was appropriate, according to an online report by Medical News. Northwestern Memorialin Chicago, the largest hospital in Illinois, did 1, 651 elective hip and knee replacements for Medicare between 2009 and 2012. The hospital faces the […]
Three years ago the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) began what it called “reference pricing.” Reference pricing established a standard price for a medication, procedure or service and required its members to pay any charges beyond that price. CalPERS reports that it has now saved $5.5 million over two years. The savings came about […]
Swimmers—drink those cartons of chocolate milk. Researchers at Indiana University have found that when collegiate, trained swimmers recovered with chocolate milk after an exhaustive swim, they swam faster in time trials later that same day. On average, they shaved off 2.1 seconds per 200 yard swim, and 0.5 seconds per 75 yard sprint, compared to […]
Morbidly obese individuals undergoing elective hip replacement surgery had a higher rate of postoperative complications and infections than did patients in other weight classifications, researchers at the Wagner College physician assistant program reported. Compared with normal weight patients, the morbidly obese—defined as those with a body mass index of 40kg/m2 or more—lost more blood during […]
Middle-aged and older adults are two or more times apt to fall and be injured if they have arthritis than are those without arthritis according to a study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Falls are the leading cause of injury-related morbidity and mortality among older adults, with more than one […]
Aurora Spine, Inc. has named Doug Johnson to be its Regional Vice-President of Sales for the Eastern United States. Prior to joining Aurora Spine, Johnson served as the area vice president east/director of business development for Life Spine, Inc. In that position he led nine direct sales managers along with 28 agencies. He has also […]
Former President George W. Bush walked around and up and down a flight of stairs hours after undergoing outpatient knee replacement surgery, according to Bush spokesman Freddy Ford. The 67-year-old leader had a partial knee replacement surgery at Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center on May 24, the Saturday before Memorial Day. A partial knee replacement […]
New York Yankees pitcher C.C. Sabathia received a stem cell injection in his right knee to deal with a degenerative condition in the cartilage. James Andrews, M.D., told the Yankees that the repair to the knee would take a minimum of six weeks if it works. Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman is quoted by writer […]
Ada Poon, Ph.D., an electrical engineer at Stanford University, has invented a way to wirelessly transfer power deep inside the human body. Poon and her team built an electronic device smaller than a grain of rice that acts as a pacemaker. The device can be powered or recharged wirelessly by holding a power source about […]
The tiny ulnar collateral ligament—barely more than two inches long—is a major worry for major league baseball. According to Ronald Blum, an AP sports writer, more than a dozen major league pitchers have already undergone Tommy John surgery—the replacement of their elbow ligament with a tendon from some other part of their body. Blum reports […]
Seventy-five percent of doctors think their contemporaries order at least one unnecessary test or procedure a week, according to a survey by Choosing Wisely reported by writer Zack Budryk of Fierce HealthCare. The reasons physicians gave for ordering extraneous tests were malpractice concerns (52%), to be extra cautious (36%), to get more information so as […]
Obesity is associated with longer hospital stays and higher costs in total knee replacement (TKR) patients, according to a new study published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. The increases hold true regardless of whether the patient has an obesity-related disease or condition. The study investigators found that more than half of TKR […]
From Huffpost Healthy Living comes a story by Amanda Chan about a trial for an experimental knee osteoarthritis treatment in India. Running the trial was Vjay Vad, M.D., a sports medicine specialist at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. His treatment, called “percutaneous cartilage bone interphase optimization” (PeCaBoo) involved collecting a patient’s own […]
Cells taken from pig bladders and implanted in severely injured legs recruited native stem cells to help build muscle. Sarah Wickline, staff writer for Med Page Today, reported that three out of five patients with lower limb volumetric muscle loss gained measurable improvement in their ability to walk and climb stairs six months following placement […]
Baseball pitchers elbows may be connected to their thigh bone—at least where injuries are concerned. Research by Kevin W. Farmer, M.D., of the University of Florida Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, indicates that a limited range of motion in a pitcher’s hips could be a risk factor for injury to their elbows. As Farmer explained, […]
Twenty-five centers across the U.S. and ten in Australia are participating in a study of a drug designed to treat adhesive capsulitis—a condition better known as “frozen shoulder.” Frozen shoulder affects from 3 to 5% of the adult population, is very painful, and limits shoulder motion for a long period of time, ranging from months […]
What did the dinosaurs know about bones and how did they learn it? A new study reveals that dinosaurs were able to survive and heal themselves after suffering bone-crushing injuries. As reported and published in the Royal Society journal Interface, paleontologists at Manchester University in England have employed a new type of imaging technology to […]
Expanding Orthopedics Inc., a venture backed, medical device company in Or Akiva, Israel, presented for the first time its new spinal cage—the FLXfit TLIF 3D—at the late April 2014 annual meeting in Miami of the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery (ISASS). The new device, described as a “novel expandable and articulated intervertebral […]
In a major step forward researchers have succeeded in creating living, human cartilage that they grew on a laboratory chip. This development brings them closer to their ultimate goal which is creating replacement cartilage for patients with osteoarthritis. The process used bioprinting technology. Leader of the research group is Rocky Tuan, Ph.D., director of the […]
Growing stem cells in space may be the next big thing. Mayo Clinic doctor Abba Zubair, M.D., has successfully treated patients who suffered hemorrhagic strokes using stem cells. His goal for the future is to grow enough cells to help in the regeneration of neurons and blood vessels in hemorrhagic stroke patients. A hemorrhagic stroke […]
Research from Finland, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, suggests that the thousands of people who have arthroscopic knee surgery to fix a torn cartilage could be wasting their time. The Finish team found that, though keyhole surgery to repair torn cartilage has risen significantly, there is no evidence that it actually helps. […]
The FDA has approved the first prosthetic arm that its wearer can control with his or her own thoughts, according to John Gever, deputy managing editor of MedPage Today. The device, which is manufactured by DEKA Integrated Solutions Corp. of New Hampshire, translates electromyographic activity in muscles near the prosthesis into signals that direct specific […]
Eighty percent of Canadians get their hips or knees replacement within six months. Not so in Nova Scotia—the worst place in Canada to sign up for a large joint replacement. Waiting time for a new hip or knee in that province is the longest in Canada. As of March, 857 Nova Scotians were waiting for […]
A German biotechnology company called Amedrix GmbH claims to have developed a one-step minimally-invasive surgical procedure for the treatment of cartilage defects. The process uses cell-free collagen implants with, the company claims, “good autoregeneration of the cartilage defects.” The firm’s first gel-like implant received approval for the European market in 2012. In December 2013 a […]
Eli Manning is one of the most durable quarterbacks in the National Football League (NFL) having started an astonishing 151 consecutive NFL games. But that ended in the fourth quarter of the final game of the 2013-2014 season—one of Manning worst years so far in the NFL, Manning, who’d guided his team to two Super […]
Having too much uric acid in the blood is not a good situation—especially for men. A study by Tapan Mehta, M.D., of the University of Colorado at Denver, found that men 65 and older with higher than normal uric acid levels were 62% more likely to fracture a hip. He was not able to find […]
Twenty-seven children in Ahmedabad, India, who had been suffering from complex spinal and upper extremity deformities, are better today thanks to a team of surgeons from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and bone grafts donated by AlloSource. For the second year in row, a medical team from the Pediatric Orthopaedic Department of the hospital traveled […]
“Big Ben” Bishop, the tallest goaltender to ever play in the NHL at 6 feet 7 inches, tore a ligament in his right wrist while getting the Tampa Bay Lightning to the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Various news reports state that Bishop chose Dr. Thomas Graham, Cleveland Clinic’s “Chief Innovation Officer” as […]
Men who have had a total hip or knee replacement are at a higher risk than are women for suffering a heart attack, infection or revision surgery. The elevated risk was particularly apparent for patients who had total knee arthroplasty (TKA), according to Patrice Wendling, reporting on the research for Rheumatology News Digital Network. Men […]
What should individuals of a certain age do if money is in short supply—save for retirement or a joint replacement? That is the question raised by NerdWallet writer Nepala Pratini who points out that the cost of a knee or hip replacement is far above the median annual household income in 18 states. Most of […]
Scientists at the FDA are studying stem cells. They are part of FDA’s MSC Consortium, a large team of FDA scientists studying adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that could eventually be used to repair, replace, restore or regenerate cells in the body, including those needed for heart and bone repair. The scientists claim that their […]
Acumed, a Hillsboro, Oregon, orthopedic firm, is introducing its new Polarus 3 Solution, a method to treat proximal humerus fractures. Acumen officials say that the device allows for a simplified operating room experience as it includes both plates and nails that use the same instrumentation and screws. They point out that the new device is […]
A medical device company called Soft Tissue Regeneration, Inc. has completed enrollment for a clinical trial of the company’s L-C Ligament, a bioresorbable scaffold for soft tissue regeneration of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) of the knee. The clinical trial is a prospective, multi-center test to evaluate the safety profile of the L-C Ligament in […]
Michael Dunbar, M.D., a surgeon at the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital and a professor in biomedical engineering at Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, Canada, was finding it hard to keep up with the long line of patients needing hip and knee replacements and post surgery check-ups. So he invented a smartphone app. Dunbar’s app uses the […]
Irritation of the affected area could be a successful treatment for shin splints, a common running injury also known as medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS), according to the April 21 press release. Phil Newman, an assistant professor at the University of Canberra, has been using sound waves to stimulate the body’s natural repair response. Newman […]
Recent downturns in the economy have had little or no effect on the growth in hip and knee arthroplasty in the United States—which is good news for orthopedic surgeons. Steven M. Kurtz, Ph.D. and his colleagues from Exponent, Inc., in Philadelphia found that the trend for joint replacement surgery in the U.S. population has been […]
In a celebration of 30, 000 joint replacements performed in the hospital—20, 000 hips and 10, 000 knees—the MIOT Hospital in Chennai, India, has established a museum within its premises called The Museum of Arthroplasty. Among the exhibits are models of prosthesis used over the years, including John Charnley’s prosthesis of 1963, which resulted in […]
Human embryonic stem cells prefer to grow on a soft, ultrafine carpet, made of a key ingredient in Silly Putty, according to a University of Michigan study published online in Nature Materials. Researchers found that the sponginess of the environment where the cells were growing affected the type of specialized cells they eventually became. Cells […]
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics, Inc. an additional patent for its autologous stem cell technology. The patent covers the production method used by the company to induce stem cells to secrete significantly elevated levels of neurotrophic factors for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. The neurotrophic factors secreted by the […]
The Medicrea Group, a Lyon, France orthopedic implant company, has launched in Europe “the world’s first patient-specific spinal osteosynthesis rod system.” Spinal surgeons in France have successfully implanted the company’s UNiD rods into 43 patients with severe spinal deformities. According to the firm’s press release, the implants are pre-contoured using X-rays and the firm’s proprietary […]
Want to experience carpal tunnel syndrome? Go to work for a poultry processing plant. A study by the National Instititue for Occupational Safety and Health ( NIOSH) found “an alarming prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome” among the workers. NIOSH researchers visited a South Carolina plant three times in 2012 and 2013 and found that 42% […]
Advanced rehab after knee replacement surgery provides long-term benefits to those who receive it, according to a study conducted by Kenneth Ottenbacher, Ph.D., OTR, director of the Center for Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. The research team examined data from 12, 199 men and women who had knee […]
Higher concentrations of sex hormones in women reduced the risk of total knee replacement by about one-third, according to a study conducted by investigators at Monash University and Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. They found that women who have joint replacements due to osteoarthritis (OA) have different patterns of hormone concentrations when compared to the […]
Only four paralyzed patients. There was no control group. None of the four subjects regained their ability to walk. Nevertheless, the study results are remarkable because the subjects, who had complete lower-body paralysis, regained the ability to move their legs and feet voluntarily with electrical stimulation to their spinal cords. MedPage Today writer John Gever […]
Ellipse Technologies, Inc.’s Magnetic Expansion Control Spinal Bracing and Distraction System (MAGEC) received FDA 510(k) clearance in February and now, for the first time since being cleared for commercial sale has been used to treat a young patient with progressive spinal deformity. Patrick J. Cahill, M.D., and Harold van Bosse, M.D. performed the surgery at […]
Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC)—a type of multipotent adult stem cells mostly processed from bone marrow—may prove beneficial in stroke recovery, according to researchers at UC Irvine’s Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center, in an April 9 press release. In an analysis of 46 studies of the stem cells, neurologist Steven Cramer, M.D., and […]
In case there was any lingering doubt that “Tommy John” surgery to repair a torn elbow ligament really works, a new study indicates it even improves Major League Baseball pitchers’ games. The ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) connects the upper arm bone to the forearm and repetitive throwing can cause the ligament to tear. To repair […]
Though her severe osteoarthritis made the 59-year-old woman a good candidate for knee replacement surgery, she chose instead to undergo the Cooled Radio Frequency (Coolief) procedure in her doctor’s office. Her doctor, Eric Loudermilk, M.D., Greenville, South Carolina, has performed about 80 radio frequency ablation procedures, the first about eight months ago, according to reporter […]
Beware of mixed martial arts (MMA) fighting! A study by researchers at the University of Toronto finds that MMA fighters are at a higher risk for brain injuries than are boxers or any other martial arts fighters. The study also found that concussion rates in MMA were greater than in both hockey and football. The […]
A new version of Exogen, an ultrasound bone healing system made by Bioventus, LLC, is now available in Canada. A medical device that its makers claim helps fractured bones heal is now offered with new compliance features and what Bioventus calls a “healing progression Performance Guarantee.” The company says that the device, which replaces the […]
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a Notice of Allowance to IlluminOss Medical Inc. for the company’s Photodynamic Bone Stabilization System (PBSS). The IlluminOss devices are limited by federal law to Investigational Use and are not approved for sale in the USA. According to the company’s description, the minimally invasive PBSS stabilizes bone […]
Rotation Medical, Inc., a Minnesota medical device company, has received 510(k) clearance from the Food and Drug Administration for its implantable collagen scaffold technology. The firm’s technology is designed for use during arthroscopic and mini-open procedures to help support the clinical management and protection of tendon injuries in cases in which there has been no […]
Rotator cuff repair is tricky and the second time around it may not be as durable as the initial repair, according to a study conducted in Australia. Researchers from the Orthopaedic Research Institute in Sydney conducted a retrospective review of 350 (300 primary, 50 revision) arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs at 6 months and two years […]
If you failed to lose some weight before your joint replacement surgery, do not give up. Losing weight following the surgery has clear benefits. According to a study by Geoffrey Westrich, M.D., research director of the adult reconstruction and joint replacement service at New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery, patients who lost weight after knee […]
The McKesson Corporation, a healthcare services and information technology company currently ranked 14th on the Fortune 500, has joined the Employers Centers of Excellence Network (ECEN) to provide its employees increased access to affordable high quality hip and knee replacement care. As earlier reported by OTW, the Pacific Business Group on Health developed ECEN. Other […]
Is there significance to the length of the index finger? Yuanyuan Wang, M.D., from Monash University’s Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, decided to find out. He put together a study to determine whether the ratio of the lengths of the index and ring fingers was associated with the risk of knee or hip OA […]
The European Union, with partners from France, Italy, Germany, Israel, Lithuania, Ireland and the Netherlands has launched a €9.2 million Euro-funded research project, called ADIPOA, to find a cure for osteoarthritis. The disease affects more than 70 million EU citizens – 400, 000 of them in Ireland. The most common form of human arthritis, it […]
The Wall Street Journal reports that Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. (ACT), a Marlborough, Massachusetts-based biotechnology company, has discovered a new method to generate a replenishable population of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from pluripotent stem cells. The stem cell derived MSCs display potent immunomodulatory and therapeutic properties and have a greater than 30, 000 fold proliferative […]
Greg Paul, a 59 year old Utah mountain climber with two artificial knees, will attempt to reach the summit of Mt. Everest in May. If he succeeds he will be the first known climber to attempt to summit Everest with two artificial knees. Paul told a writer for Digital Journal, “If I can get to […]
Here is additional incentive—if more is needed—to quit smoking. A British study has found that bone-healing cells in nonsmokers were of better quality, were more active and divided more quickly than did those in smokers. Researchers learned this by analyzing the bone-healing stem cells taken from blood samples from the area of the fractures in […]
Still trying to decide if hard or soft soles on their shoes protect runners from injury? If so, give up because a new study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine has found that the hardness of the sole makes no difference. According to Stephen Kasica, writing for Outside, researchers at the Sports Medicine […]
Lizards are not cuddly creatures but they can do something humans cannot—grow cartilage. If a lizard loses its tail it can regrow another one. The new tail will not have any bones in it, but the regrown cartilage will be strong enough the support the new tail. The lizard’s ability to regenerate cartilage has grabbed […]
Patients in Alberta, Canada with painful hips and knees are feeling good about their health service. The reason? The wait time for a joint replacement has dropped three weeks to 19.2 weeks thanks to a new Hip and Knee Replacement Program that was launched in 2010. Wait time for surgery is not all that has […]
The name of Manuj Wadhwa, M.D., head of the Department of Orthopaedics & Joint Replacement at Max Super Specialty Hospital, Mohali, India, has gone into the Limca Book of Records. His achievement? Performing 331 joint replacement surgeries in 31 days in March 2014. Wedhwa is a specialist in the reconstruction of adult knee, hip, elbow […]
People who keep track of such things in the United Kingdom estimate that doctors perform 90, 000 hip replacements and 70, 000 knee implant surgeries annually. Of these, at least 10% will eventually develop osteolysis post surgery. Osteolysis is an inflammatory reaction to particles of the implants in the surrounding bones. When this happens, revision […]
The hospital stay for hip joint replacement patients has steadily decreased from a week to a couple of days or even same-day surgery. But, the time between the hip surgery and when patients can get back in their cars and drive again has not changed—until now. Ed Susman, writing for Med Page Today, reports that […]
It may seem a little unfair, but a study by Olle Mansson, M.D., of NU-Hospital Group in Uddevalla, Sweden has found that adolescents who have an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction are more likely to demonstrate osteoarthritic changes later in life. “Long-term follow-ups after the surgical treatment of ACL injuries in kids are rare and […]
Douglas Orndorff, M.D. has implanted Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation’s first laminoplasty system in the U.S. (the implant and instruments by Integra LifeSciences). The surgery occurred in March 2014 at Mercy Medical Center in Durango, Colorado (see image). The system is used to treat patients with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament, cervical myelopathy and degenerative […]
Medical Press, commenting on a study that counted the number of Americans who had received an artificial joint, reports that more than 7 million Americans are presently living with an artificial knee (4.7 million) or hip (2.5 million.) That amounts to 0.8% of the total population. But among adults age 50 and older the rate […]
For patients in a hurry, those who want to get their knee replacements over with in as short a time as possible, same-day bilateral knee replacement is a possibility. Does it matter to the surgeon what is ailing those sore knees? While patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are often sicker than are patients with osteoarthritis […]
For people of a certain age, especially women, a broken hip is regarded as a death sentence. More than 340, 000 people experience a broken hip in the U.S every year. The most common type of hip fracture is known as a femoral neck fracture where the area just below the ball of the hip’s […]
Rotator cuff tears are among the most common orthopedic injuries suffered by adults in the United States, according to a report in Medical Press. The culprit? Wear and tear and the effects of age. Using a five-year $3.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) researchers in orthopedics have joined together with engineers […]
Here is another reason to get that painful hip or knee replaced: it could help your heart. A study, conducted in Canada, has found that total joint replacement (TJR) reduces the risk for cardiac events such as heart attack and stroke by as much as 40%. It is not hard to figure out why this […]
A clinical trial of a device to treat chronic low back pain (CLBP) is set to begin in three clinical sites in Australia. Called the ReActiv8, the neurostimulation device is made by Mainstay Medical of Swords, County Dublin, Ireland. The purpose of the clinical trial is to investigate ReActiv8 as a treatment for adults with […]
Kenneth Burhop, Ph.D. has joined Integra LifeSciences Holding Corporation as corporate vice president and chief scientific officer.
OrthAlign, Inc., a privately held U.S.-based medical device company, has entered into a distribution agreement with Lima, France for its total knee arthroplasty (TKA) technology called KneeAlign. KneeAlign provides both tibial and distal femoral navigation in a palm-sized, single-use device that, according to the company, is compatible with all implant systems. French orthopedic surgeon André […]
A team of doctors at Great Ormond Hospital in London are making serious plans to reconstruct an ear with stem cells taken from their patient’s fat. They have already succeeded in growing cartilage in their laboratory and plan to proceed using a technique published in the journal Nanomedicine. According to James Gallagher, writing for the […]
An updated analysis of a Phase 1/11a clinical trial of adipose-derived mesenchymal precursor cell therapy for knee osteoarthritis (KOA) showed no serious adverse effects and some encouraging results. Participants experienced significantly reduced knee pain, improved knee mobility and prolonged walking distance. Cellular Biomedicine Group, Inc. presented the results of its trial at the New York […]
Physicians have tested over 1, 000 patients with the Vertebral Motion Analysis (VMA) system since its limited commercial launch in 2013. Produced by Ortho Kinematics, Inc., the VMA is an automated, diagnostic alternative to the current test for assessing spinal instability, according to a company press release. Company officials define spinal instability as a condition […]
OTW recently reported on the hazards to the heads of runners trying to reach home plate in a baseball game and those of the catchers who try to block them. This week officials of Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association have agreed on changing the rules. The change, while deemed “experimental, […]
The first surgical implant in the United Kingdom of Aurora Spine Corporation’s Zip Ultra, a minimally invasive interspinous device, took place in late February. Stuart James, M.D, performed the surgery at the University Hospital Llandough, a part of the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board. “The ZIP MIS implant is very well designed. It is […]
Anyone who has struggled to bandage a wounded finger or thumb may find Orfit Industries’ new product, Orficast, of interest. Orficast is a new moldable thermoplastic for finger splints that, according to the company’s description, is stretchable and self-adhesive. It is knitted from thermoplastic fibers and comes in two widths—3 centimeters for finger and toe […]
To get stem cells to repair tissue has, up to the present, required the application of large amounts of growth factor proteins which signal the stem cells to differentiate into cartilage and other tissues. A major difficulty has been delivering these growth factors to the stem cells once they are implanted on a structure into […]
OrthoTrophix, Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company based in Oakland, California, has started a Phase 2 clinical trial of a cartilage repair therapeutic agent. Called TPX-100, the substance is designed to be used with knee osteoarthritis patients in the U.S. The purpose of the clinical trial is to demonstrate proof of principle of the safety […]
Does the kind of anesthesia used during knee replacement surgery increase the odds that the patient is at risk for a post-surgery fall? Research has shown that regional forms of anesthesia—spinal or epidural (neuraxial) anesthesia and peripheral nerve blocks (PNB)—provide better pain control, faster rehabilitation and fewer complications than does general anesthesia. But surgeons have […]
A concern for surgeons performing hip replacement surgery is to finish the job with both of the patient’s legs the same length. The Canadian company Intellijoint Surgical, Inc. (formerly Avenir Medical) has received a Health Canada Medical Device License for its flagship product, Intellijoint HIP, that it claims is significantly more accurate in determining leg […]
Two Baltimore surgeons have performed the first surgery in North America using the P2—the latest generation of Ellipse Technologies, Inc.’s Precice Limb Lengthening System. John Herzenberg, M.D., the director of the Rubin Institute’s International Center for Limb Lengthening (ICLL) and Shawn Standard, M.D., head of Pediatric Orthopedics at the ICLL, inserted the P2 rod into […]
Twelve needy patients in Ecuador will get new knees this month thanks to a donation by Maxx Medical, Ltd. and a team of 30 medical professionals who are flying to Machala, Ecuador to install them. Rick Savino, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon with Long Island Bone and Joint in New York, will perform the surgeries which […]
The U.S. FDA has granted further 510(k) clearance to Integrity Life Sciences for a new version of its original device, the Integrity Spinal Care System (ISCS). The nonsurgical medical device applies therapeutic distraction forces to a patient’s spinal column to alleviate low back and neck pain caused by a broad range of spinal disorders. The […]
Thomas Ferro, orthopedic surgeon and Medical Director of the Bone & Joint Center at Arroyo Grande, California, has performed the first knee replacement procedure using FDA cleared single-use, cordless, handheld power tools in an orthopedic operation in the United States. According to a Business Wire report, specialty surgical power tools that are used to cut […]
Which group of runners fares better in marathons and ultra-marathons—the young sprouts or the older, more seasoned runners? It turns out that the older runners have the edge. A study led by Martin Hoffman, M.D., a professor at the University of California-Davis, and Eswar Krishnan, M.D., an epidemiologist at Stanford University, found that older, more […]
What to do about preventing venous thromboembolisms (DVT) following hip and knee replacement surgery? Supplying an answer is a 3, 060 patient study that was conducted in ten high volume medical centers of the effectiveness of the ActiveCare +SFT mobile compression device. In February editors of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS) published […]
Have an idea for a business? A husband and wife doctor team believes it can help entrepreneurial-minded physicians contribute to their field. Tim Gueramy and Tracey Haas, both M.D.s, have launched The Walters Physician Incubator
Fat kids are not healthy kids. A new study indicates that childhood obesity may be putting children’s musculoskeletal systems at risk. According to new research reported in the February issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery , obese children who sustain a supracondylar humeral (above the elbow) fracture can be expected to have […]
The patient, a man in his 60s who suffered from a rare bone cancer called chondrosarcoma, had half of his pelvis bone removed to stop his cancer from spreading. His surgeon, Craig Gerrand, M.D., a consultant orthopedic surgeon at Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals in Great Britain, explained, “Since this cancer does not respond to drugs […]
Is the practice of charging one inclusive payment for surgical services, sometimes called “bundled payments, ” the future of joint replacement surgery? Executives at Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) and the surgeons at Triangle Orthopaedic Associates (TOA) believe that it is. Instead of billing separately for the surgeon, hospital, physical therapist, anesthesiologist […]
The FDA has granted “marketing clearance” to Ellipse Technologies, Inc.’s Intramedullary Limb Lengthening System for the lengthening of the femur and tibia. Called the Precice 2 system, it provides for a noninvasive adjustment of the implant that, the company claims, is unavailable with other treatment options. The Precice system was originally cleared for use in […]
It is big news when antibiotic-containing microspheres prevented infections in 100% of grossly contaminated wounds. Researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) and collaborators at Rice University and Shriners Hospital for Children-Houston have come up with an application that may wipe-out implant-associated bone infections all together. The lead investigator is […]
Aurora Spine, Inc., which calls itself “an early stage company focused on bringing new solutions to the spinal implant market, ” has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA for its sterile-packed coated fusion implants. Called TiNano, the devices are titanium plasma spray coated. The coating is used on PEEK Interbody implants. The company claims this […]
Hip and knee replacement surgery has gotten most of the attention in recent years. But total shoulder replacement is coming into its own. Maureen Salamon, HealthDay reporter, writes that Mayo Clinic researchers have found that 93% of arthritis patients who underwent a total shoulder replacement needed no further surgery on their joints a decade later. […]
“Waste not want not, ” was a popular adage a generation or two ago. It still applies, according to Melissa Knothe Tate, Ph.D., the Paul Trainer chair of biomedical engineering at the University of New South Wales, Australia. Her research team collected samples of stem cells from the periosteum of patients having joint replacement surgery. […]
If Zebra fish can do it, why can’t the rest of us? That is the question asked by University of Oregon biologists who believe they may have cracked the code on the natural process of bone regeneration in zebra fish. According to R&D Magazine’s 100, they hold the hope that their insights could advance therapies […]
From the Times of India comes yet another story of orthopedic prowess. Micro surgeon Birendra Kishore Sharma, M.D., of Deepak Hospital, reattached the completely severed right wrist of 25 year old Rakesh Pandey. A local farmer, Pandey lost his hand when it became stuck in a part of a fodder-cutting machine he was operating. When […]
A new device, made by OrthoSensor Inc. and called the VERASENSE, will do away with guesswork when a surgeon is quantifying soft tissue balance during a total knee arthroplasty (TKA), according to company officials. As described by James Snodgrass, writing for European Plastics News, the VERASENSE is a sterile, disposable plastic sensor that is placed […]
The directors of Amedica Corporation has named Jeff White to its board of directors.
What does hormone replacement therapy (HRT) have to do with repeat surgery for a knee or hip replacement? Apparently a lot, according to the results of a large population-based study published online in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. The study found that HRT, taken regularly for six months after a knee or hip replacement, […]
It is the collisions at home plate, when a runner is almost home, that causes the most injuries. Professional baseball players are much more apt to be injured there than in any other type of base-running plays, according to a study led by Daryl Rosenbsaum, M.D., a sports medicine physician at Wake Forest Baptist Medical […]
Twin Cities Orthopedics (TCO), of Golden Valley, Minnesota, which OTW reported in 2012 was providing one-bill knee replacements, is now offering the same program for hip, shoulder and ankle procedures. The program bills patients once for all aspects of the procedure, from medications to the surgery to physical therapy during recovery. Patients recover in suites […]
Many middle school girl soccer players experience concussions and most continue to play with their symptoms. That is the result of a study conducted by John W. O’Kane, M.D., of the University of Washington Sports Medicine Clinic, Seattle, and his colleagues, and reported by The JAMA Network. Unfortunately, although 50, 000 soccer-related concussions take place […]
The idea is an old one—but the technique is new. Medical researchers in Belgium are using stem cells from fatty tissue to repair bones. In a departure from the usual process, doctors at Saint Luc University Clinic Hospital remove a piece of fatty tissue the size of a sugar cube from the patient and use […]
Live streaming to the patient’s family? U.S.-based Indian orthopedic surgeon Selen G. Parekh, M.D., wearing Google Glass, performed a successful foot and ankle surgery on a patient in Jaipur, according to a report from Reuters. Parekh performed the surgery during a three day annual Indo-U.S. medical and technology conference. The conference chair, Ashish Sharma, M.D. […]
How healthy are ultra-marathon runners? Very, according to a survey of 1, 212 active ultra-marathon runners by Martin D. Hoffman, M.D., from of the Sacramento Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and Eswar Krishnan, M.D., from Stanford University in Palo Alto. But they do suffer from asthma and allergies. The researchers found that over 25% of the […]
The emphasis on competitive success in youth sports has led to burnout and a rise in overuse injuries, according to a new clinical report by the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine. The report provides guidance to professionals who provide care to young athletes. The researchers, through a literature search, found that overuse injuries comprise […]
How much does a new hip cost? The doctors who implant them do not know, writes Jenny Gold in Kaiser Health News. According to a survey of 503 physicians at seven major academic medical centers published this week in Health Affairs, they were able to correctly estimate the cost of a device only 21% of […]
It is a lot safer getting a hip or knee replacement now than it was 20 years ago, according to a study by Dutch researchers of the experience in Denmark. Overall, the death rate in the two months after surgery fell from about 3.4% each year between 1989 and 1991 to 1.4% per year between […]
The journal Stem Cell Reports has published the first study to identify the origin cells of human articular cartilage and track their early development. This research could provide a new cell source and biological roadmap for therapies to repair cartilage defects and damage from osteoarthritis, writes Shaun Mason, of Domain-b. While scientists have studied the […]
For $175 a pair runners can pull on a pair of “smart socks” that will track how their foot hits the ground, the rhythm of their footfall, count their steps and estimate calories consumed. The manufacturer, Heapsylon, LLC, claims that over time the socks’ sensors will learn how its wearer runs and will alert the […]
If a still picture won’t work, try a movie. Orthopedic surgeons at the University of California have learned to create “movies” of the wrist in motion—images that are useful in diagnosing the subtle changes in physiology that indicate the onset of conditions such as instability of the wrist. The films are made by creating a […]
To heal the concussed brain, give it a rest, reports Michelle Healy, of USA Today. New research involving 335 children and young adults, ages 8 to 23, finds that cognitive rest speeds recovery from concussions. Those reporting the highest levels of cognitive activity such as reading, doing homework, playing video games, took about 100 days, […]
Most smokers know that the habit is bad for their hearts and lungs, but bones? Jeffrey Johnson, M.D., chief of the foot and ankle service for Washington University Orthopedics, said, “If you’re a smoker and have a fracture, that break does not heal as fast and sometimes does not heal at all. Smoking increases infection […]
Researchers at Oxford University and Oxford University Hospital have developed a surgical patch that promotes the rapid growth of tendon tissue and that, if tests prove successful, could transform shoulder repair operations. Andrew Carr, MA, ChM, FRCS, an UK Oxford University Hospital surgeon and Nuffield Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Oxford, led […]
Complication rates for arthroscopy knee surgery may be higher than initially believed, according to a study of 92, 565 cases carried out by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. The cases were entered in the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery database by applicants taking their board examinations. According to David Geier, M.D., arthroscopic […]
Is one ever too old to get a new knee? Ali Saleh Hussein, whose passport shows that his age is 98, underwent joint replacement surgery on his left knee at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai in December. His orthopedic surgeon, Amyn Rajani, said, “Hussein’s knees are those of a 60-year-old man. While the left one […]
Medicare (CMS) is using the outcomes of hip and knee replacement surgeries to measure the effectiveness of U.S. hospitals. The agency has identified 95 hospitals where elderly patients are more likely to experience significant setbacks in their recovery and 97 “good” hospitals—meaning that they have a higher recovery rate. The analysis and reporting is the […]
Do the dietary supplements glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate slow joint damage in the knees of people suffering from mild arthritis? Past studies have said “no.” A recent new study of the effectiveness of the supplements—that measured more than 30 parts of the knee joint—resulted in a “maybe.” Among the people who took the supplements over […]
Everyone of a certain age remembers the pain of a doctor’s stripping off adhesive tape from a wound. Now a chemist, Professor Mark Grinstaff, Ph.D., his students and Harvard Medical School Assistant Professors of Orthopedic Surgery Edward K. Rodriguez, M.D. and Ara Nazarian, Dr.Sc. have developed a hydrogel that not only seals wounds but can […]
They call it a BioPen. Its inventors use it to deposit regenerative stem cells onto damaged bone and cartilage in a process very much like 3D printing. The BioPen co-developer, Peter Choony, M.D., a professor of surgery at University of Melbourne and Director of Orthopaedics at St. Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne, explains that the device extrudes […]
Repeated blows to the head during a season of contact sports may cause changes in the brain’s white matter and affect cognitive abilities even if none of the impacts resulted in a concussion, according to a recent study published in the journal Neurology. Thomas W. McAllister, M.D., chair of the Indiana University (IU) Department of […]
From Medical Press comes the story of attempts to ameliorate the problems caused by osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), a congenital bone disease that stunts the growth of its victims and causes repeated and painful fracturing of their bones. Ultrasound scans reveal that fetuses with this ailment, still in the womb, have fractured bones. In an experimental […]
Is there a shortage of physicians and nurses in the United States? A majority of hospital executives believe there is. According to a survey by AMN Healthcare, reported by Zack Budryk, writing for FierceHealthcare, 78% of hospital executives believe there is a physician shortage, 66% believe there is a shortage of nurses and 50% say […]
Necessity is the mother of invention. If a picture is worth 1, 000 words then this one is worthy of many more. From Changsha, Hunan Province of China, comes the story of Xiao Wei who lost his right hand in an industrial accident and the team of surgeons who didn’t let a “flattened” arm stop […]
In what may turn out to be a breakthrough discovery, stem cell researchers from UCLA have identified the origin cells and tracked the early development of human articular cartilage. This could provide a new cell source and biological roadmap for therapies to repair cartilage damage from osteoarthritis. Denis Evseenko, M.D., assistant professor of orthopedic surgery […]
A running shoe will soon not be just a running shoe any longer. Through a combination of sensor technology, wireless communication and Smartphone apps, the humble running shoe is being transformed into a monitoring device. According to Jesse Emspak, writing for LiveScience, the new running shoe will monitor how and where the runner’s foot hits […]
Researchers keep inching toward the goal of creating a synthetic articular cartilage—that all important tissue that cushions the end of bones where they meet at joints. Now Farshid Guilak, M.D., a professor of orthopedic surgery at Duke University and Kuanhe Zhao, Ph.D., assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the same institution, have created artificial replacement […]
Market Research Reports, Inc. make good reading when they deal with the world-wide knee replacement market. The market value of knee replacement is expected to increase over the next few years from $6.544 billion in 2012 to $7.459 billion by 2019 which represents a compound annual growth rate of 1.9%. The United States had the […]
Even if an athlete does not experience a concussion, blows to the head experienced while participating in a sport may still negatively affect the brain. That is the conclusion of a study reported by Huffpost Healthy Living that showed differences in white matter between college athletes who participated in contact sports, such as football, and […]
For the fifth year in a row Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) has an infection rate that is significantly lower than the New York State average for hip replacement or revision surgeries, according to a report released by the State Department of Health. It is the only New York hospital to have achieved this result. […]
Can running in two or more pair of shoes in a week lower a runner’s risk of injury? According to the first study of its kind, it may. As reported by Scott Douglas, writing for Runners’ World, researchers in Luxembourg collected information on injury rates, running volume, shoe usage and other variables from 264 adult […]
The British are getting serious about the failure of government to encourage a more active life style among children. Calling the present practice “child neglect, ” physicians writing in the British Journal of Sports Medicine accuse politicians of “neglecting state policy on child physical activity for decades.” Regular exercise in childhood can help boost academic […]
If you are going to experience a concussion, try to have it at a high altitude. That is the advice implied…
Sea coral is back and may be better than ever—as bone graft. Of course, the problem for surgeons requiring bone graft material is well understood. Autograft (pieces of bone taken from other parts of the body and implanted where bones are injured) work but they cause pain in the places where the bone was removed. […]
There is hope for the couch potatoes among us. People who begin a program of exercise, even late in life…
AlloSource, of Centennial, Colorado, a provider of skin, bone and soft tissue allografts for use in surgical procedures, has received the sixth patent covering its AlloTrue product’s processes and methods. AlloTrue is a tissue cleaning and disinfecting system that uses rotation, coupled with sonication, to reduce bacteria. Technicians expose the allograft to a variety of […]
Stop blaming obesity among those 65 and older for the unprecedented increase in knee replacement surgeries. It turns out those under 65 are fatter! Data gathered by more than 125 orthopedic surgeons from 22 states across the U.S. revealed rising rates of obesity among those under the age of 65. In the first 9, 000 […]
What do you get when you cross an orthopedic surgeon, age 72, with an industrial engineer, age 70, who are looking for something to do? You get a new machine called the X10 that will restore and maintain knee flexibility and strength after a total knee replacement. The machine, invented by the two friends, uses […]
What is going on Down Under? Australians having a hip or knee replacement are three times more likely to suffer a pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis compared with other developed countries, a new report reveals. In 2011 a total of 1, 760 patients experienced a pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis per 100, 000 […]
Staff of the Australian biotech firm Mesoblast, claimed by its founder to be the biggest player in this particular biotechnology sector, is excited about this week’s legislative change in Japan. The change will allow fast-track approvals of stem cell products. Japan’s Diet passed bills to both ensure the safety of regenerative medicine products and enable […]
How did a 78 bed rural hospital in an economically depressed region of upstate New York end up with a world-class spinal surgeon? The answer lies in the power of human relationships to influence career decisions, the willingness of a hospital administrator and board to invest in equipment for a surgeon who was a continent […]
Researchers from North Carolina State and Duke University have developed a nanoscale “patch” that can direct a stem cell to differentiate into a bone cell or a cartilage cell. The patches sensitize targeted cell receptors to make them more responsive to the signals that control cell activity. Cells in a living organism communicate by physical […]
Rates of total hip arthroplasty have risen steadily during the past four decades. Is there a way to avoid a total hip replacement? Exercise. That is the advice Scandinavian researchers give as a result of their study of 109 adults with symptomatic and radiographically documented hip osteoarthritis. Study subjects who participated in both an educational […]
A device for treating hammertoe deformities has received FDA clearance. Called the HammerLock Nitinol Intramedullary Fixation System, the device is manufactured by the privately held BioMedical Enterprises, Inc. (BME), San Antonio, Texas. Company officials report that the device eliminates the use of wires and features a flat body design that resists rotation. In addition, the […]
Domestic violence is the most common cause of nonfatal injuries among women, according to the World Health Organization. Yet only about 25% of orthopedic trauma surgeons have the training required to recognize broken bones caused by domestic abuse. A study conducted at the University of Missouri found that 74% of orthopedic surgeons believed that only […]
Surgeons performed more than one million hip and knee replacements in 2013, but an additional 230 will be added to that total between December 2 and December 7. That’s when 130 volunteer orthopedic surgeons and 70 participating hospitals will provide free joint replacement surgeries to patients who otherwise could not afford them. The physicians and […]
Older people get the blame but it is younger people whose rising rate of obesity is driving the increasing number of knee replacements in the U.S. That is the conclusion of a study that examined data from 9, 000 knee replacements gathered by more than 125 orthopedic surgeons from 22 states. The analysis revealed that […]
You’ve had a knee replaced. Now which is better—home-based one-to-one therapy or physical therapy with a group? An Australian study has found “very strong evidence that one-to-one therapy does not provide superior outcomes to group-based therapy or monitored home programs in the short and longer term after total knee arthroplasty.” Victoria Ko and colleagues analyzed […]
A locking orthopedics innovation uses magnets to help patients with knee problems. Lindsey Alexander, a writer for MedCity News, quotes Eric Lucas, founder of the Engage Knee System, as explaining that many patients with knee dysfunction for whom a knee replacement is not appropriate, choose to have their two leg bones fused together—a knee arthrodesis. […]
After experiencing a concussion, do women have worse symptoms than do men? One study says “yes” and another says “no.” Tracey Covassin of Michigan State University in East Lansing led a study of 39 male and 56 female soccer players who sustained concussions. All of the players were in high school or college. As reported […]
OrthAlign Inc.’s handheld navigation device for use with both total hip and total knee arthroplasty surgeries has received clearance from the FDA. Called the OrthAlign Plus, the palm-sized, single use computer-controlled navigation device is an alternative for surgeons, specifically in total hip arthroplasty, according to Nick van der Walt, OrthAlign’s vice president of engineering. He […]
Does having a total hip or knee replacement benefit a patient’s heart? It may, according to researchers at the University of Toronto who matched 153 patients who had a joint replacement with 153 who did not. The subjects all had similar health profiles in terms of age, weight, smoking status and the severity of their […]
According to Vietweek, Vietnam is one of the few countries in the world doing clinical trials to treat knee osteoarthritis (OA) using stem cells taken from a patient’s fat tissue. Two of the hospitals conducting the trials say the procedure has proved effective so far. Bui Hong Thien Khanh, M.D., head of orthopedics at the […]
A study on 103 patients with a high rate of complex vertebral fractures (59%) confirms the excellent performance of SpineJack in treating these fractures, according to officials of Vexim, its manufacturer. Vexim is a medical device company specializing in the minimally invasive treatment of vertebral fractures. The study aimed to measure the anatomical restoration, the […]
Researchers at the University of Iowa have tested a “bio patch” that regenerates missing or damaged bone by inserting DNA into nano-sized particles that deliver bone-making instructions directly into cells. According to Catherine Paddock, PhD., writing in MNT, the method succeeded in regrowing enough bone to cover skull wounds in live rats. In test tubes […]
Obese patients undergo a disproportionately higher number of elective orthopedic surgeries in the U.S. Being fat is linked to higher costs, complications, infections and, in total knee and hip replacement surgeries, revisions. What is its impact on total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) surgery? A new study looked at the impact of obesity on both the costs […]
Renji Hospital in Shanghai, a tertiary hospital affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, has given approval for a Phase IIb clinical trial for ReJoin. ReJoin is a human adipose-derived mesenchymal precursor cell therapy bio-engineered for knee osteoarthritis (KOA) by Cellular Biomedicine Group, Inc. The trial will test the safety and efficacy of […]
Smith & Nephew has just kicked off the U.S. launch of the HEALICOIL REGENESORB Suture Anchor. The company indicates that this new suture anchor is the first device to use the company’s proprietary REGENESORB material, an advanced biocomposite that has been shown in pre-clinical studies to be absorbed and replaced by bone within 24 months. […]
Patients with osteoarthritis whose doctors gave them injections of hyaluronic acid were able to delay total knee replacement for up to 2.6 years longer than could those who did not have the injections, according to Nancy Walsh, staff writer for MedPage Today. Walsh quoted Roy D. Altman, M.D., University of California, Los Angeles as saying, […]
According to a study reported by Kelly Young in NEJH Journal Watch, total joint arthroplasty is associated with reduced cardiovascular risk among patients with knee or hip osteoarthritis. Researchers in Canada identified 150 people, 55 years old or older, who suffered from moderate-to-severe knee or hip osteoarthritis and had undergone a total joint replacement. They […]
Concerned because you do not get as much exercise as you think you should? Stop worrying. It turns out that the movement and activity associated with daily living may be enough. Elin Ekblom-Bak, Ph.D., from the Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm, and colleagues, conducted a health screening study in which they followed 4, 232 men […]
Integra LifeSciences Holding Corporation has entered into an agreement with Covidien plc to acquire its Confluent Surgical product lines, surgical sealants, adhesion barrier and DuraSeal. Covidien will receive an initial cash payment of $235 million from Integra when the closing takes place, presumably by the end of the first quarter of 2014. In addition, Covidien […]
This is a follow-up on the stem cells and windpipes story. Surgeon Paolo Macchiarini, from Stockholm’s Karolinska University Hospital, reports that Claudia Castillo, the patient to whom he gave a new windpipe five years ago, continues to enjoy “a normal social and working life”. The procedure performed on Claudia Castillo involved removing the cells from […]
The FDA has issued a 510 (k) clearance for Integra LifeSciences Holding Corporation’s Hollywood NanoMetalene Interbody Device (IBD). The IBD is to be used primarily for transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion. According to the October press release, “The PEEK-OPTIMA polymer used in the Hollywood NanoMetalene IBD underwent a proprietary high-energy, low temperature surface process that created […]
The study was small—just 16 patients—but the results are intriguing. Hans C. Dreyer, P.T., Ph.D., professor of human physiology, University of Oregon, together with the Eugene-based Slocum Research & Education Foundation and the Oregon Research Institute, gave 20 grams of essential amino acids for three weeks to patients before and after knee replacement surgery. They […]
Patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee who are not yet opting for TKA (total knee arthroplasty) surgery will find the results of a new study published in The American Journal of Orthopedics helpful. The study found that a combination of VQ OrthoCare’s BioniCare (a non-invasive pulsed electrical stimulator) with a joint unloading knee brace […]
The first U.S. surgical usage of Aurora Spine Corporation’s AmnioPUR took place this October in a lumbar spine procedure. AmnioPUR is a multipurpose, chorion free, cryopreserved allograft derived from the amniotic membrane. “The clinical benefit of amnion is well documented; we just made it easier to use by providing AmnioPUR in a liquid form, ” […]
A little more than 5% of patients who undergo total hip and knee arthroplasty return to the hospital within 90 days for an unplanned readmission, according to a study published in October in The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. Benjamin Zmistowski, from Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, conducted the study. He and his […]
A biotech subsidiary has entered into a research collaboration agreement to develop BMP and stem cell loaded 3D printing devices for applications in orthopedics. The subsidiary is Stelis Bioparma (formerly called Agila Biotech) and its partner is Bio-Scaffold International Pte Ltd (BSI), a Singapore-based start-up company. Stelis Bioparm is owned by Strides Arcolab. BSI is […]
Amedica Corporation, a biomaterial company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, has entered into a distribution agreement with K2M to provide access in Europe to Amedica’s Silicon Nitride interbody spinal fusion devices. K2M is the world’s largest privately held spinal device company. Earlier this year, Amedica and K2M conducted a pilot program in select markets […]
Experiencing carpal tunnel symptoms? Try yoga. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that yoga proved to be more effective in treating carpal tunnel syndrome than did wrist splints. (Carpal tunnel syndrome is an inflammatory disorder caused by repetitive movements such as typing on a computer. It affects the middle nerve connecting the wrist to […]
Want to add from $10, 000 to $30, 000 annually to your lifetime earnings and improve your sex life at the same time? Get a total hip or knee replacement. That is the message of two studies, one published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery and the other presented at the annual meeting […]
Chinese people’s joints wear out too, but replacement implants have, on occasion, been too large. Now a team of 21 experts from France and China’s Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital in the southwestern city of Chengdu have co-developed artificial knee joints based on the bone proportion of Chinese people. Artificial knee joints, domestic or imported, used […]
A study reported in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that certain physical exercise programs either prevent or dramatically reduce the risk of sports injury. Injuries, the study notes, are the downside of exercise, and many sports injuries can be tough to treat. But the study found that certain types of exercise may help […]
Every year 8, 000 Australians have to get back on the operating table because of faulty joint replacements, according to national health reporter Sue Dunlevy, writing for the Melbourne Herald Sun. A study by the National Joint Replacement Registry has identified the four devices with the lower record of problems. Even when these four devices […]
Biomet, Inc.’s new stemless shoulder is moving and grooving in its first U.S. patient. This inaugural implant of the Comprehensive Nano Stemless Shoulder took place in October at the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville. The surgery was part of an FDA Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) multi-center prospective clinical study and was performed by […]
The impossible keeps on getting easier. Researchers at Kyoto University, Japan, have found a way to use human skin cells to produce new types of cells—including cartilage cells. Instead of using stem cells to create different cells, which, they found, takes longer, they are using a direct reprogramming method where genes are implanted directly into […]
Five years ago a surgeon implanted the first KineSpring in an aching knee and this month Jack Farr, M.D., Director of the OrthoIndy Cartilage Restoration Center of Indiana and the OrthoIndy Sports Medicine Fellowship Program installed the 500th KineSpring worldwide. The KineSpring System, made by Moximed, Inc. of Hayward, California, is an implantable medical spring […]
The online publication TeleManagement reports that knee replacement patients are less likely to experience complications following their surgery if surgeons used bone cement along with the antibiotic cefuroxime. Potential complications for diabetics after knee replacement surgery include slow wound healing, problems with fracture healing and lack of sensation in the joint that can lead to […]
The names of devices grow longer and longer. Note Amedica Corporation’s new Valeo II Silicon Nitride Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion Device. The device is made from the firm’s silicon nitride biomaterial which, according to the company, has been shown to help promote bone growth and provide anti-infective properties. The device is indicated for intervertebral body […]
Putting soft cushioning in running shoes to prevent injuries may be a great marketing tool, but it does not prevent injuries. That is the result of a test with nearly 250 runners running in identical-looking shoes with different levels of cushioning in a blind trial. Factors such as body weight and fitness made a difference […]
Driven by an aging population the demand in the U.S. for hip and knee replacements will double in the next ten years, according to researchers. Disturbingly, the number of medical students going into orthopedic and joint reconstruction is going in the other direction. It is declining. To the rescue have come four of the leading […]
Two patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) have received stem cell injections to their spinal cords at the University of Michigan Health System. They are the first to receive the injections in what is part of a national clinical trial. The Phase II trial is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and funded […]
The Land of Lincoln hosted the president of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, when she came to Springfield’s Memorial hospital for surgery on her arm October 4. Besides being president, Ms. Sirleaf is co-recipient of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize. The surgery was performed by Saadiq El-Amin, M.D. and an orthopedic surgeon and Southern Illinois University […]
Mesoblast Ltd is spending an initial twenty million in cash for U.S.-based Osiris Therapeutics, Inc.’s cultured stem cell business, according to reporter Brian Robins of the Sydney Morning Herald. The final price could go as high as $US 100 million depending on Mesoblast’s progress in developing the newly acquired products. There is also a provision […]
Bone Therapeutics SA has received clearance from the Competent Authorities in Belgium and the United Kingdom for a Phase I/IIa trial of its allogeneic cell therapy product ALLOB for the treatment of delayed union fractures. A delayed union fracture is defined as a bone that has not healed within the expected normal period of time, […]
In an attempt to both improve medical care and lower costs for their employees, several large employers—including Walmart and Lowe’s—have launched a national Employers Centers of Excellence Network (ECEN) that will offer no-cost (to the patient) knee and hip replacement surgeries for their employees. The four participating centers are Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in […]
The FDA has granted 510(k) clearance to Renovis Surgical Technologies, Inc.’s porous titanium spinal implant. Called the Tesera Stand-alone ALIF Cage, the device uses additive manufacturing to create porous surfaces that, the company affirms, aid with bone in-growth from the vertebral endplates. The Tesera ALIF implant is the first in a family of spinal and […]
Just completed is a two-year follow-up of a controlled, randomized, blind multi-center study of peripheral nerve repair using Integra LifeSciences Holding Corporation’s NeuraGen Nerve Guide. The Nerve Guide is a semi-permeable, resorbable Type 1 collagen tube designed for nerve repair. The study compared the NeuraGen Nerve Guide to direct suture in patients who had traumatic […]
The wait time for joint replacement surgery at The Ottawa Hospital in Canada is not long—it just seems that way. Or it is not as long as the provincial numbers suggest, says the hospital’s chief of orthopedic surgery. The reason the numbers look as bad as they do is many patients insist on waiting for […]
OrthoSensor, Inc. has received the CE Mark approval for its Verasense Knee System and is planning to soon launch its product in European markets. The Verasense Knee System is a single-use instrument system that, according to company officials, replaces the standard plastic tibial trial spacer used during knee replacement surgery. Company officials claim that the […]
A report from China describes how a Chinese surgeon constructed a nose from a patient’s rib cartilage and implanted it under the skin of the patient’s forehead in preparation for a transplant to his face. Surgeon Guo Zhihui of Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, in the province of Fujian, spent nine months cultivating the graft […]
That miserable meniscus—the articular cartilage that injures too easily, repairs too slowly if at all and wears out far too soon in the human body. Now Regentis Biomaterials, Ltd, of Princeton, New Jersey and Akiva, Israel, announces new clinical data that is favorable to its GelrinC implant for treating articular cartilage in injured knees. GelrinC […]
A Houston-based spinal technology company focused on autologous regrowth of the spinal disc nucleus using human dermal fibroblasts, has received a Notice Of Acceptance on its patent application from the Australian Patent Office. The company is SpinalCyte, LLC, founded in 2007 to develop a cartilage regeneration technology using autologous dermal cells harvested from the patient. […]
Which is better—diet or exercise—in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis? Diet came out better than did either alone for obese patients, according to an 18 month trial conducted by Stephen P. Messier, Ph.D. of Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. However, joint inflammation, pain, function, and quality of life all significantly favored those who followed […]
Why are Koreans getting so much carpal tunnel syndrome? The number of patients in Korea suffering from the disorder has increased by 60% in recent years, going from 100, 000 in 2008 to 160, 000 in 2012. Eight out of every 10 patients are women, and half are in their 40s and 50s. The usual […]
Until recently there has been little incentive for hospitals to reduce the fees they charge for procedures such as hip and knee replacements. Then, about one year ago, the California Pubic Employees Retirement System took on hospitals in the state in regard to the fees they were charging for replacements. It did that through a […]
Have a patient troubled with mild to moderate pain caused by knee osteoarthritis? Try intra-articular hyaluronic acid injections (HA). A new meta-analysis of 29 randomized studies involving more than 4, 500 patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) found that intra-articular hyaluronic acid injections provided significant improvement in pain and function compared to saline injections. Medical News […]
OTW has previously described Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation’s development of a reverse shoulder system. Now the firm announces that William Geissler, M.D., professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, has performed the first implant of Integra’s new shoulder system. “I was very pleased with the flexibility of the system’s platform stem, […]
Does the doctor always know best? A recent release by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) suggests that the answer may be “not always.” Through its participation in the “Choose Wisely” campaign, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons has released a list of five procedures, commonly proscribed by orthopedic surgeons that research has found […]
How the surface of an implant is textured makes a difference, according to a study currently available on The Spine Journal’s website and awaiting publication in an upcoming issue. The study, according to Titan Spine, LLC, demonstrates that the firm’s combination of textures provided by its implant surface technology promotes superior production of angiogenic growth […]
Medical tourism is booming in India, according to the Times of India, with surgeons in South Gujarat picking up much of the business. Harshad Joshi, M.D., a knee replacement surgeon, will be performing nearly 200 surgeries during November and December. About 70% of the patients he will operate on during this period will be non-resident […]
Wearing a back brace can be beneficial for patients with scoliosis, according to a study reported by Michael Smith, North American correspondent for MedPage Today. According to Smith, the success of the bracing was directly related to how long patients wore their braces on a daily basis. Those who wore them for six hours a […]
To MRI or not to MRI—that is the question. In a study conducted at Duke University Medical Center, Matthew P. Lungren, M.D., and his colleagues found that images of patients who had been referred by a physician group with a financial interest in the MR imaging equipment were significantly more likely to be negative than […]
First the problem—then a throw of the dart at a solution. As every patient with painful joints knows, injuries affecting cartilage are notoriously hard to treat because cartilage cannot heal itself. For more than a decade researchers have been trying to unlock the code to using stem cells to repair joints and cartilage. However, the […]
There is an app for almost everything. Now researchers at the University of Notre Dame have developed an app that, they believe, will diagnose concussions on the sidelines of football and other high impact games. As reported by Susan Young in Biomedicine News, studies have found that head injuries change speech characteristics, with noticeable effects […]
Got carpal tunnel syndrome? Try a Szechuan pepper. It may sound bizarre but when researchers rubbed pepper extract on the lips of volunteers, almost none of them could tell whether they were eating peppers or experiencing mechanical stimulation. Munching on a Chinese peppercorn felt the same as did pressing a vibrator to their lips. Scientists […]
In a clear challenge to the orthopedic industry, the official publication of the Consumer’s Union, Consumer Reports, called on implant manufacturers to offer warranties for their implants so that patients and taxpayers would not have to pay for a replacement when an implant fails. According to the article, 20% of hip replacements and 10% of […]
Frequent ads in the media, both print and electronic, promote the use of lateral wedge insoles as a treatment option for painful osteoarthritis of the knee. Do they work? According to Stephanie Watson, executive editor of the Harvard Women’s Health Watch, such insoles do little to relieve the pain of arthritis. Medial knee osteoarthritis affects […]
PUR Biologics, LLC announces that it had been granted two patents by the U.S. Patent office covering multipotent stem cell-derived material. The new inventions were developed by PUR to assist physicians with the repair and regeneration of tissue. The office issued the patents to PUR’s joint venture partner, Histogen, Inc. in early September. The patents […]
Another presupposition is challenged. The reported association of smoking with the risk of undergoing a total joint replacement (TJR) due to osteoarthritis is not consistent enough to qualify as a risk factor, according to a major study in Australia. Australian researchers examined the electronic records of 54, 288 men and women who were initially recruited […]
Christopher Prentice, who joined Mazor Robotics Ltd in 2010, has been promoted to Senior Vice President, America and Global Marketing.
Can zapping the basivertebral nerve, located inside the bony part of the spine, get rid of low back pain for good? Doctors with Memorial Orthopaedic Surgical Group in Los Angeles hope to find out. “All pain is derived from nerves, but there can be a nerve within the bone itself called the basivertebral nerve that […]
If it works on pets, why not try it on humans? That is what the manufacturer of BoneCure, an artificial membrane that speeds and simplifies bone re-growth in pets, is asking. BoneCure is a membrane rolled into a sleeve that encases the space where lost bone should grow and is anchored in place with bolts […]
Moirai Orthopaedics, L.L.C. is an orthopedic implant development company in Metairie, Louisiana, that received CE approval mark for its Pyrocarbon Implant Replacement (PIR) system. The PIR System is designed to treat patients with focal chondral and osteochondral defects of the medial femoral condyle of the knee. Company officials explain that their PIR System targets patients […]
StelKast, Inc., a privately held manufacturer and distributor of orthopedic implants for knee and hip replacement, has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA to market its product Exp for the company’s Proven Gen-Flex Total Knee System. EXp is a blend of the antioxidant vitamin E (a-tocopherol) and a cross-linked polyethylene technology that, StelKast affirms, preserves […]
Although founded just five months ago, privately held Abyrx already has its second FDA clearance. Abyrx, Inc., a privately-held therapeutic device company, reports that the United States Food and Drug Administration has cleared a new resorbable hemostatic bone putty, called Hemasorb Plus, for clinical use in the United States. The firm’s release states that Hemasorb […]
Vomaris Innovations, Inc. is a regenerative medical device company located in Chandler, Arizona, that specializes in microcurrent field generating technologies for the wound care market. Its wound care device which underwent recent testing is called Procellera®. The device consists of a discrete matrix of silver and zinc dots placed on a pliable polyester substrate. By […]
Women are two to eight times more likely than men to suffer a debilitating tear of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the knee. So what is going on with women? A new study suggests that a combination of body type and the way women land may be to blame. In two new studies published […]
The United States patent office has granted a patent to Wenzel Spine, Inc. of Austin, Texas, for a product with one of the longest names in the industry. It is Wenzel Spine’s Zero-Profile VariLift® Stand-Alone Expandable Interbody Fusion System. Chad Neely, CEO of Wenzel Spine, said, “With the issuance of this new patent, the Patent […]
A patient at Celebration Health hospital, Orlando, Florida, was the world’s first to receive deep brain stimulation (DBS) using Mazor Robotics Renaissance Guidance System. Nizam Razack, M.D. performed the procedure in August and later performed a similar operation on two more patients with positive results. DBS is a procedure to implant a battery-operated medical device […]
The internet and media that cover medical news have been buzzing about a story, published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature, reporting that researchers using stem cells have created a “mini-brain.” Researchers found that stem cells were able to assemble themselves into tiny clumps of complex neural tissue that they termed “cerebral organoids.” These structures resembled […]
The surgeon was half-way through a two hour ankle replacement procedure when the patient suddenly asked, “How’s it going?” Later the patient commented on the noise made by the saw as it was cutting through his bone. What was going on? What was going on was hypnosis. The patient, 66-year-old Alex Lenkei, of Worthig, West […]
Aurora Spine, Inc., one of the up and coming young spinal implant companies, announced last week that it had moved into a brand spanking new 17, 388 square foot corporate headquarters in sunny Carlsbad, California. The company will use the space to support research and development, engineering, sales and shipping. “This is an exciting time […]
An institution that performs more than 2, 000 total hip and knee replacements annually, putting it—in terms of volume—among the top 20 hospitals nationwide, is opening a new Center for Advanced Joint Replacement. The Christiana Care Health System has created the Center, which features 30 private rooms and a new therapy gym, on the 7th […]
Neal Moszkowski has retired from the Board of Directors of Integra LifeSciences Holding Corporation and has been replaced as a Director of the Company by Donald Morel. “Neal’s service to Integra for a total of 13 years has been extremely valuable, ” said Stuart Essig, Chairman of Integra’s Board of Directors. “We are thankful for […]
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted 510(K) clearance to Tissue Regeneration Systems (TRS) for its Cranial Bone Void Filler product, which is used for the repair of neurosurgical burr holes. This is the first of a family of craniomaxillofacial surgery products being developed by TRS that incorporate the company’s skeletal reconstruction and bone […]
Pivot Medical, Inc. has named Kevin Sidow to the company’s Board of Directors. Sidow, who is president and CEO of Moximed, Inc, has worked for more than 20 years in the orthopedic medical device market.
Dwayne Montgomery joins IlluminOss Medical. IlluminOss Medical, a privately held medical device company in East Providence, Rhode Island, has named Dwayne Montgomery its Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing.
Patients who undergo total knee arthroplasty (TKA) with a high body mass index (BMI) are more likely to be female and not insured through Medicaid, according to E. Vulcano, writing in the August issue of The Journal of Arthroplasty. Ettore Vulcano, M.D. and his colleagues who conducted the study, wrote in their report that, “Obese […]
Despite its cost of more than $20, 000, knee replacement surgery more than pays for itself for most patients. That is the conclusion of a study conducted by John R. Tongue, M.D., a researcher for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). Amir Khan, staff writer for Everyday Health wrote that the study estimated the […]
Fashion rules and despite the pain involved, women (for the most part) do not—will not—give up wearing their stiletto heels, no matter how much it may hurt to walk in them. Bunions afflict ten times more women than men. Orthopedic surgeon James Clayton, who believes the condition to be a genetic muscle imbalance, advises young […]
Medicare pays for hospital stays. Medicare also counts how many patients are readmitted within 30 days after the end of their initial hospital stay. If readmissions are above the national average, adjusted for patient mix, Medicare will charge the hospital a penalty. According to PR Newswire, Medicare will begin charging hospitals $265, 000 for each […]
Can a study of 70, 000 runners be wrong? Paul Williams, exercise scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, has studied that many runners over 22 years and says that running long distances does not cause repetitive-stress injuries such as arthritis and joint damage. “There’s a perception out there that somehow you’re wearing out […]
Three-D printing of human organs is advancing at an astounding pace. Hangzhou Dianzi University in China has a Regenovo printer that prints living tissue—such as replacement ears. Cornell University in New York has a similar tissue printer and in Belgium an 83-year-old woman is chewing, speaking and breathing normally with a new jawbone fashioned by […]
The orthopedics department of Peking Third University, China, is printing bones with a 3-D printer and reporting good success when the bones are implanted into patients. “We started the clinical trial to test those implants last year, and all the patients participating in the trial are recovering well, ” says Liu Zhongjun, director of the […]
RTI Surgical Inc, a surgical implant company that provides surgeons with biologic, metal and synthetic implants, has successfully completed the first human implantation of the company’s map3 Cellular Allogeneic Bone Graft implant. Franco E. Vigna, M.D., M.P.H., a board-certified orthopedic surgeon with Spine Surgery of Buffalo, New York and a fellow with the American Academy […]
A simple program is cutting surgical site infections by a dramatic percentage, according to orthopaedic traumatologist and joint reconstruction doctor Brian Tonne, M.D., at the University of Tennessee Medical Center. Before undergoing a hip or knee replacement patients take an infection-prevention class called “project joints.” Patients’ noses are swabbed to check for the presence of […]
With the help of a 3-D printer, scientists in Melbourne, Australia, report that they have grown human cartilage from stem cells. Led by Associate Professor Damian Myers of St. Vincent’s Hospital, scientists developed the 3D scaffolds which were used to grow the cartilage cells. Myers claimed that this was the first time true cartilage had […]
The folks at Integra LifeSciences Holding Corporation are celebrating. The FDA has granted a 510(k) clearance for its Titan Reverse Shoulder System. The company plans to begin a limited market release of the system in the U.S. in the third quarter of 2013 and, upon CE Mark clearance in Europe, initiate a full global commercial […]
Stem cells, it seems, are everywhere. Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center’s Institute for Regenerative Medicine have not only identified stem cells in urine but, for the first time, have directed them to become multiple cell types. They have found that urine-derived cells have the potential to form bone, cartilage, fat, skeletal muscle, nerve […]
Orthopedic surgeon Fernando Peña, M.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the University of Minnesota and a practicing ankle surgeon, could not sleep one night and instead lay in bed debating what to do about one of his young patients. The young woman had arthritis in her ankle and was in […]
Oh, my aching back! Doctors frequently hear that lament from patients who have no medical reason for their discomfort, such as a spinal injury or an accident. According to a study by researchers at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, too many physicians give these patients unnecessary imaging tests or treat them with surgeries that […]
Researchers at New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) report the first in-depth study of repair techniques for the repair of knee cartilage. And the results are encouraging. The study was an evaluation of Zimmer, Inc.’s De Novo NT Natural Tissue Graft. Scott Rodeo, M.D., orthopedic surgeon and co-chief of the sports medicine and shoulder […]
gSource, LLC is pleased to announce a second donation of their surgical instruments to the Foundation of Orthopedics and Complex Spine (FOCOS), a 501c3 nonprofit organization founded by Dr. Oheneba Boachie- Adjei, Professor of Orthopedic Surgery and Chief Scoliosis Surgeon at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. The donated instruments, valued at $6, 215, […]
Not all bones are alike. Foreign surgeons, working in India, have found that Indian bones tend to be weaker, more prone to osteoporosis and more apt to be deformed than are those in either the U.S. or England. Erik Zeegan, a Las Vegas based orthopedic surgeon, said that knee replacement surgeries in India tended to […]
The European Union has granted the CE Mark Approval to Aurora Spine, Inc. for its Zip MIS Interspinous Fusion System allowing it to be sold throughout Europe and in areas of the world that recognize the CE Mark. Aurora Spine officials describe the system as being a posterior, non-pedicle supplemental fixation device that is designed […]
Spinal Elements, Inc. reports on the results of a test comparing its Ti-Bond porous titanium coated PEEK interbody implants with PEEK implants without the coating. The company release defines the coating as random unconnected titanium pores that are biomechanically adhered through a plasma vacuum spray to the surfaces of its PEEK-OPTIMA interbody implants. William Walsh, […]
Thromboembolic complications and deep vein thrombosis are as common in patients who have total ankle replacements as they are in those who undergo hip or knee replacement. That is the result of a study presented at the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society Annual Meeting. “The incidence of thromboembolic complications after total ankle replacement is […]
A California-based start-up, SMC Biotechnology, is betting that carbohydrates hold the key to rapid bone healing after surgery or a traumatic injury. Luke Timmerman, national biotech editor of Xconomy, writes that the carbohydrates that SMC Bio is betting on are variations of heparan sulfate, a long-chained sugar molecule that promotes bone healing by binding with […]
Forget Singapore or Costa Rica for medical tourism. If patients are looking for a bargain in joint replacement, they should first research the U.S. The Chickasaw Nation Medical Center in Ada, Oklahoma, charges $5, 304 for a knee replacement, according to the consumer comparison site nerdwallet.com. Bruce Watson, of Daily Finance, reports that the next […]
Company officials report that surgeons at the University Medical Center, Mainz, Germany, used the Mazor Robotics Renaissance Guidance System to implant 590 screws in the spines of 118 patients from October 2011 through January 2013. Sven Kantelhardt, M.D., chief senior physician of the Neurosurgery Department said that the screws were implanted in the lumbar and […]
Bone fractures in the elderly are slow to heal. Now researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine have come up with a simple and effective way to speed up the growth of healthy new bone. As explained by Stanford University writer Krista Conger, researchers have found that a quick immersion in a signaling protein solution […]
No question about it, in certain situations smaller is better. Researchers who conducted a review of the literature found that in treating patients with an ankle impingement, an endoscopic method is superior to an open surgical procedure, reported Zwiers R. Arthrosc, in Orthopedics Today. C. Niek van Dijk, M.D., Ph.D., the lead researcher and his […]
Titan Spine, LLC of Mequon, Wisconsin, is celebrating the awarding of four new patents by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The patents relate to the surface textures of the firm’s spine implants as well as the design of its ENDOSKELETON interbody device and system instrumentation. Titan Spine now holds 10 patents and has an […]
Now available in the U.S. is Ceterix Orthopaedics, Inc.’s NovoStitch suture passer. This device, according to the manufacturer, enables surgeons to place stitches in tight joint compartments, including those in knees, hips and shoulders, during minimally invasive arthroscopic surgical procedures. According to Justin D. Saliman, M.D., Ceterix founder and chief medical officer, the technology enables […]
Med students will be grateful as will surgeons developing less invasive surgical techniques. The object of their appreciation is ChromaVasc, a technique developed by MedCure, Inc. that highlights the arterial and venous system throughout the entire body of cadaveric, whole body donors. To the dismay of medical students, the veins and arteries in a cadaver […]
Give the elderly a break! Healthy patients in their 80s and older do just as well after joint arthroplasty as do younger patients. Researchers at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, checked on 454 patients who had received either a hip or a knee replacement. Sixty-nine of the patients were 80 years old or older […]
The FDA has granted 510(k) clearance to OsteoMed, LLC to market its ExtremiFuse device for the correction of hammertoe deformities. Company officials estimate that approximately 60 million people suffer from this toe deformity and 550, 000 surgeries are performed annually to correct it. Hammertoe occurs most frequently in the second, third and fourth toes, according […]
A shoulder or rotator cuff injury is no joke. According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons each year approximately 200, 000 Americans require shoulder surgery related to repair of the rotator cuff. An additional 400, 000 Americans have surgery for related rotator cuff tendonitis or for partial tears. To facilitate shoulder repair, Mitek Sports […]
Baseball players who undergo ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) surgery do not face the end of their athletic careers, according to a study presented at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine’s Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois. “Previous studies showed successful return to play after UCL surgery, but we were also able to evaluate each athlete’s […]
Want to direct injected stem cells to certain parts of the body? Try feeding the cells tiny particles of magnetized iron oxide, injecting them intravenously and controlling their movements with a magnet. W. Robert Taylor, M.D., Ph.D. at Emory University and Gang Bao, Ph.D. of both Georgia Tech and Emory University did just that using […]
One anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) often leads to another, according to a study presented at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine’s (AOSSM) Annual Meeting and reported in Science Daily. The study revealed that the chance of having to go through the surgery again within 24 months is six times greater than it is […]
Doctors take heart. Despite the numbers of current physicians who report feeling burned out, underpaid and unappreciated, 93% of prospective doctors say that they are very or somewhat optimistic about the future of the profession. The National Survey of Future Medical Leaders, conducted in June 2013 of 6, 000 current high school students with grade […]
It looks like an oversize hairnet covered with hundreds of bottle caps. But the bottle caps are electrodes and the hair net is a mesh that a football player can slip over his head following a hit. If the device works as planned, a football player who takes a hit to the head will come […]
Orthopedic surgeons perform about 700, 000 knee replacements in the U.S. every year—a number that is expected to quintuple within the next 20 years. Not all of those implants are successful. Some implants come loose; others result in fractures of adjoining bone. They wear out. The average lifetime of a knee implant is about ten […]
Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who undergo hip and knee replacements are just as pleased with the results as are patients who have osteoarthritis (OA) and undergo the same surgeries, according to studies presented at the European League Against Rheumatism’s annual congress. The studies found that RA patients were as likely as OA patients to […]
Bioventus, headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, has added new compliance features to its EXOGEN Ultrasound Bone Healing System and has begun shipping in Europe. Company officials say the device will be released in the United States, Canada and Australia later this year. They describe it as being a portable, lightweight device that features an ultrasound […]
“Patients not suffering from anemia before an operation do not need autologous blood donations prior to a primary knee or hip implantation, ” said Friedrich Böttner, of the Hospital for Special Surgery, New York. He was speaking at the 14th Congress of the European Federation of National Associations of Orthopaedics and Traumatology in Istanbul. “Instead, […]
Patients in the United Kingdom are watching cricket matches while getting a new hip or knee, according to Judy Hobson, writing in the Daily Mail. Patients who are not likely to become upset by the sounds of hammering and sawing can opt for a spinal block that numbs sensation from the waist down for four […]
It is the little things that make the difference—such as giving patients for hip or knee replacement surgery pain killers before the surgery—instead of after. Galway, Ireland, surgeon Derek Bennett, M.D. has his patients on their feet as soon as two hours after surgery thanks to a program he first learned about from doctors in […]
Will the injection of young cartilage cells into the lower back regenerate pain generating spinal discs? To find out, the Anand Spine Group of Los Angeles will participate in a Phase II clinical trial studying the efficacy and safety of ISTO’s NuQu cell-based therapy. The Anand Spine Group, lead by orthopedic spine surgeon and medical […]
It is good news when patients remain symptom-free and report satisfaction 13 years after undergoing a procedure. That is the case with most patients who underwent open carpal tunnel release, according to a study published in the June issue of The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. Dexter L. Louie, from Brigham and Women’s Hospital […]
Will stem cells from a patient’s own fat tissue aid in healing cartilage after knee surgery? Damaged knee cartilage is hard to treat and, untreated, can lead to constant pain and disability. More than four million knee arthroscopies are performed worldwide each year, according to the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine. To test the […]
More on the regeneration of amputated digits: It has long been observed that some children have regrown the tips of their fingers after amputation—but regeneration does not happen if more than the nail region has been removed. Researchers have found that the digit bones can regenerate only if the amputated stump still contains some nail […]
In a pilot program designed to control costs, the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) announced last year that its top payment to a hospital for a member’s knee replacement would be $30, 000. The CalPERS organization gave its members a list of 46 hospitals which, investigators had ascertained, provided quality joint replacement care and […]
A seven-year long clinical study comparing the PEEK polymer spinal cage with titanium in the surgical treatment of multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) has come down on the side of the PEEK polymer, according to a news release by PRWeb. The study concluded that a cage made of the high performance PEEK polymer is superior […]
Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation has received the European CE Mark for its device called the “Smart Cervical Solution” that is delivered to the surgeon in a sterile, double-blister pack. The device is designed to treat degenerative diseases of the cervical spine that require stabilization and fusion of two or more cervical vertebrae. According to the […]
The FDA has awarded 510(k) clearance to OrthoSensor, Inc. for its Verasense Knee System with limb alignment, according to a company release. The company says that Verasense is the first intraoperative instrument system to combine quantifiable data on limb alignment, implant position and soft tissue balancing for surgeons during total knee replacement surgery. OrthoSensor describes […]
Mark Glazebrook, M.D., a foot surgeon in Nova Scotia, has 3, 000 patients on his waiting list. A current patient, Myra Bailey, waited eight years for an appointment about her sore left foot. “On a daily basis I’m seeing people that were referred to me as long ago as 2003. People are waiting an excess […]
Bone putty made of spherical glass particles has received FDA clearance, according to its manufacturer, Synergy Biomedical, LLC, and is launching its first bone graft product called BioSphere Putty. Company officials claim that BioSphere, which uses a specialized form of 45S5 bioactive glass with a unique sphere shape, provides an optimized bone graft material that […]
Don’t bite that fingernail! Stem cells underneath the nail have been found capable of regenerating finger tips and the tips of toes after amputation. According to Jack Phillips, writing in Epoch Times, mammals, including humans, can regenerate skin and bone at the ends of fingers. The new findings are published in the journal Nature. Mayuni […]
Aurora Spine, Inc., a firm specializing in minimally-invasive regenerative technologies, has named Richard Moss vice president of International Business Development. Since February 2009, Moss was vice president of International Sales at Doctors Research Group. He also served as director of sales (Europe) for TranS1, Inc, a publically traded company based in Wilmington, North Carolina. Moss’ […]
Brian S. Cohen of Adena Health System, Chillicothe, Ohio, became the first U.S. surgeon to install Arthrex, Inc.’s new reverse shoulder implant, according to the company. The Food and Drug Administration approved the Arthrex Univers Revers device on May 31, 2013, and Cohen performed the procedure on a 72-year old-man during a live, international surgery […]
The common belief that patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have worse outcomes after joint replacement than do those suffering from osteoarthritis (OA) has been challenged (if not overcome) by the results of two new studies. Conducted by researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), the studies were made possible by the HSS Total Joint Replacement […]
What’s with orthopedists and women? A survey published in Pain Medicine News, for May, reports that orthopedists recommended total knee replacements much more often to men than they did to women. A Yale rheumatologist and her associates conducted the survey of 406 orthopedic surgeons and 494 rheumatologists. The investigators presented each doctor with the case […]
In the back of their minds, patients often wonder if they would get better medical care if they were paying for their surgery themselves instead of benefiting from a public subsidy. Investigators from the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and the Department of Physiotherapy, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore, decided to find out. Singapore has a universal […]
Exactech has implanted the first of a new hip replacement system that, according to company officials, is designed to preserve a key portion of patients’ bone in a total hip arthroplasty procedure. The company press release states that the LPI Prime hip system is a more conservative treatment option, designed to maintain the maximum amount […]
Providence Medical Technology, Inc., based in San Francisco, California, has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA for PMT Cervical Cage. The cage is a minimally invasive implant and delivery system for cervical fusion procedures. According to Jeff Smith, chief executive officer of Providence Medical Technology, the PMT Cervical Cage is indicated for use in skeletally […]
The knees may be the same—but their rate of replacement varies widely according to Patrick Sadoghi, M.D., commenting on data from an international comparison study he conducted in Europe. He used data from national arthroplasty registers that have been set up in many countries to ensure quality control and to determine how well an implant […]
As workers with stem cells know, human cells lines, whether they are embryonic or induced pluripotent, can develop into a wide variety of cells or tissues in the body. Now researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital have discovered that stem cells that express a gene called WNT3 are biased to develop into cell and tissues of […]
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) is recommending two revised clinical practice guidelines (CPG) for treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee. One is a reduction from 4, 000 mg of acetaminophen to 3, 000 mg a day, based on a change made by the FDA in 2009 for any individuals—not necessarily just those with […]
A venous thromboembolism is a threat to patients undergoing a total hip arthroplasty (THA). Which is the better preventative—extended use of aspirin or low-molecular-weight heparin? To find out, a bevy of doctors undertook a study of the somewhat controversial role of aspirin in thromboprophylaxis after total hip arthroplasty. They wanted to compare extended treatment with […]
The privately held regenerative medicine firm Histogenics Corp. has hired Peter Greenleaf, former president of AstraZeneca, to be its new CEO.
Patients who took a standardized medical evaluation process before their joint replacement surgery experienced 32% fewer postoperative complications than did patients who were not evaluated, according to a Business Wire report. A study of nearly 700 total knee and total hip replacement patients, conducted by John Muir Health, found that the pre-operation project improves the […]
Approximately one in five adults in the U.S. went to an emergency room for care at least once in 2011, according to Nancy Walsh, writer for MedPage Today. The data comes from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) which reported that “the total number of visits to emergency departments increased 34% between 1995 and 2010—from […]
This is the story of an incubator. The company, Minnesota Medical Physics, occupies one of a row of identical office spaces in a business center located in Edina, Minnesota. CEO Ali Jaafar and Principal Scientist Victor Chornenky, Ph.D., started the company in 2001 to develop “Innovative Solutions to Unmet Medical Needs.” Educated as a physicist, […]
ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) is a horrible disease. Only half of patients are alive three years after their diagnosis. Now, from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, is news that the transplantation of human stem cells improved survival and muscle function in rats used to model ALS. Masatoshi Suzuki, an assistant professor of comparative biosciences, […]
Do surgeons need all those surgical gloves, sterile towels, gowns and drapes to replace one knee joint? Perhaps not, thought three medical students in London, Ontario, who conducted an audit of five knee replacement surgeries performed at the London Health Sciences Centre. As reported by Sharon Kirkey of Postmedia News, they found that the average […]
Cerepedics, Inc. has added two new executives to its administrative roster. One is Glen A. Kashuba who is the firm’s new chief executive officer. The other is Jeffrey G. Marx, Ph.D., who is the new president and chief operating officer.
Successful tests on mice, conducted by scientists at Johns Hopkins University, have added credibility to a new theory on the cause of osteoarthritis (OA). Test results are published in the May 19 issue of Nature Magazine. The investigators write that instead of seeing the painful degenerative disease as a problem primarily of the cartilage that […]
Being first out of the starting gate with research counts. Investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital are the first to report that ordinary layered clay—scientific term “synthetic silicate nanoplatelets”—can induce stem cells to become bone cells without the need of additional bone-inducing factors. They published their results online in Advanced Materials. Synthetic silicates are made […]
GE Healthcare, of Waukesha, Wisconsin, has introduced a novel magnetic resonance (MR) imaging technique designed to more accurately image soft tissue and bone in patients undergoing joint replacement surgery. According to a Hospital for Special Surgery study published in The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery, MR imaging can detect inflammation of the joint lining […]
Allergic to nickel? Patients about to undergo joint replacement surgery can now get a simple blood test that will reveal whether or nor they are allergic to metals. A team has devised a blood test to determine allergies to nickel and is working on developing blood tests for other allergens such as cobalt and the […]
What groups of people—men, women, Whites, Blacks, Hispanics—have the greatest lifetime risk of developing osteoarthritis of the knee? A study by the Orthopaedic and Arthritis Center for Outcomes Research at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston has found that women have a higher risk than do men, and that Black women have the highest risk […]
As reported in the Wall Street Journal, preliminary findings from a new prospective study of complications after knee replacement surgery show a 47% decrease in wound complications when surgeons used a specific cover dressing compared with standard surgical dressing. The product being tested was Aquacel® Ag Surgical. Researchers conducted the study at the OrthoCarolina Hip […]
Michael Smith, North American correspondent for MedPage Today, reports that, “for the first time, researchers have efficiently produced human embryonic stem cells, using a process similar to the one that produced the famous cloned sheep, Dolly.” Researchers created embryonic stem cell (ESC) lines using somatic cell nuclei and unfertilized human oocytes. Smith writes “This is […]
A risk that is hard for a patient to avoid is weight gain after undergoing knee replacement surgery. Now another study, this one by the Mayo Clinic and Virginia Commonwealth University based on one of the largest knee replacement registries in the U.K., found that 30% of knee replacement patients gained an extra 5% of […]
Northern Westchester Hospital at Mt. Kisco, New York, has extended the enrollment period for a clinical trial to evaluate a pain management procedure for a total knee replacement. Known as “The Pacira Trial”, the study will evaluate the safety, efficacy and pharmacokinetics of a single injection femoral nerve block with liposome bupivacaine for post-operative pain […]
Mitek Sports Medicine, part of the DePuy Synthes Companies of Johnson & Johnson, has launched the Healix 3.4mm Suture Anchor, the company’s smallest dual-thread suture anchor for rotator cuff repair. This is part of a new double-loaded minimally invasive partial thickness rotator cuff repair system—called the Healix Transtend Implant System. The 3.4mm suture anchor is […]
A cooperative study between Interleukin Genetics and the Thurston Arthritis Research Center at the University of North Carolina has found that individuals with radiographic knee osteoarthritis (OA) with a specific pattern of gene variations in the interleukin-1 receptor antagonist gene (IL1RN) were more likely to progress to severe disease than those without the gene variations. […]
AFcell Medical, Inc., a designer and supplier of birth tissue forms under its AmnioClear brand, has hired David Buche as Chief Operating Officer. Buche comes to AFCell Medical with over 25 years experience in the biologics and medical device industry.
A group of scientists from the New York Stem Cell Foundation Research Institute (NYSCF) has succeeded in generating patient-specific bone substitutes from skin cells for the repair of large bone defects. The researchers took skin cells and, utilizing an advanced technique called “reprogramming, ” turned the adult skin cells back into an embryonic-like state. (These […]
Creaking joints may get some longer lasting lubricant from work done by biomedical engineering Professor Mark W. Grinstaff and his colleagues at Boston University. They have developed a new synthetic polymer that works like synovial fluid, the natural lubricant in joints.
Stem cells need a partner if they are to be biologically effective as regenerators of cartilage tissue. University of Bristol researchers in the United Kingdom believe they may have found that partner. In a study published in Biomacromolecules they explored the feasibility of using naturally occurring fibers such as cellulose and silk for stem cell […]
As if getting a new knee was not traumatic enough, a new study indicates that a significant post-surgery weight gain is likely to follow. Nancy Walsh, staff writer for MedPage Today, reports May 1 that on an adjusted multivariable analysis, recipients of knee arthroplasty were 60% more likely to gain 5% or more of their […]
A way to improve outcomes of patients undergoing hip or knee replacements, according to a new study by researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery, is to change the kind of anesthesia. They found that the use of neuraxial anesthesia (also known as spinal or epidural anesthesia) reduced the risk of pulmonary compromise by twofold in […]
Does the shape of your hands determine if you will get carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS)? It might. A study in the Wall Street Journal, found that people with short, wide hands and square-shaped wrists might be more prone to getting carpal tunnel syndrome.
Integra LifeSciences Corporation is presently staging the full market release of its Hollywood VI intervertebral body fusion device (IBD) system.
The least most expensive country was Argentina, where hip replacements cost $3, 365 and knee replacements averaged $3, 192. At the high end of the cost scale is the U.S. and Australia.
The Edmonton Journal (Canada) reports an uncommon surgery performed for the first time in the area. Orthopedic surgeon Nadr Jomha transplanted a shin bone, complete with the cartilage and meniscus to reconstruct the knee of a 22-year-old man who had suffered a serious workplace injury.
Researchers at Micro Orthopaedics, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, China, have shown that articular cartilage defects can be repaired by a novel thermo-sensitive injectable hydrogel. The hydrogel is treated with gene modified bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (BMSCs).
Close to two-thirds of children who received stem cell transplants returned to the hospital within six months for treatment of unexplained fevers, infections or other problems. Children who received their own cells were half as likely to be readmitted as were children who received donor cells.
Mesoblast, the highest value stem company in the world, released the latest in string of studies examining the ability of a certain type of stem cell to treat back pain. In its earliest test of its stem cells (known as mesenchymal precursor cells – MPCs) the company injected its MPCs into three adjacent lumbar discs […]
India has the dubious distinction of having more than 63 million people living with diabetes, according to Shobha Shukla, writing for Citizen News Service. India is second only to China in the number of people living with diabetes which, being a disease of the blood vessels, often results in destroyed hind foot bones. While osteomyelitis […]
A study of Titan Spine, LLC Endoskeleton titanium interbody cage, presented at the 13th Annual Meeting of the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery, found that the device achieved rapid lumbar fusions. The study looked at 77 patients with a mean age of 46 years who underwent an ALIF procedure using the Endoskeleton […]
Does the way a runner’s foot strikes the ground affect the number of runner’s injuries he or she may get? A recent study by Al Daoud and colleagues at Harvard University indicates that it may. According to Rich Sauza, writing in RunSafe, Daoud compared the difference between rearfoot strike and forefoot strike on the types […]
Health Canada has cleared Neurotech NA’s orthopedic and pain management devices for distribution in Canada. Receiving clearance are the Kneehab XP Quadriceps Therapy System, the Neurotech Plus Surface Neurostimulation System, and the Recovery – Back Conductive Garment System. The Kneehab XP, which was introduced in the U.S. in early 2010, is a quadriceps rehabilitation system […]
How do the salaries of workers in the medical device industry measure against their counterparts in other industries? According to figures newly released by the Bureau of Labor & Statistics, they are doing well, particularly at the highest levels. Workers in the medical device industry sector earn, in general, higher salaries than do their counterparts […]
Regentis Biomaterials Ltd., a privately held company focused on developing proprietary hydrogels for tissue regeneration, is expanding its clinical study of GelrinC for cartilage repair to 12 new sites in Germany, Belgium, Poland, the Netherlands and Israel. Researchers say the study will enroll an additional 30 new patients, bringing the total number of treated patients […]
Relievant Medsystems, Inc., is a Redwood, California-based privately held medical device company pioneering the therapeutic use of basivertebral nerve ablation for treating chronic axial low back pain. The company has completed an interim review of safety results of the company’s SMART Clinical Trial which is evaluating its Intracept therapy for chronic low back pain. The […]
Keep those young people moving. Results from two studies by Bjorn E. Rosengren, M.D., Ph.D. from Skane University Hospital in Malmo, Sweden, indicated that exercise at a young age can improve bone growth and reduce fracture risk in old age. “Despite the limitations of our studies, we can conclude that strength training in young years […]
Will diets become obsolete? Researchers at the University of East Anglia have made a neuroscience discovery that they believe could have a major impact on the problem of obesity. Scientists investigating the hypothalamus section of the brain—that part which regulates sleep and wake cycles, energy expenditure, appetite, thirst, hormone release and many other critical biological […]
It is all about how they land. The athletes who are most apt to tear their anterior cruciate ligaments are teenage girls. Unlike men and boys who tend to jump and land with their knees in a crouching position, women and girls are more likely to land with straight legs. Though there have been many […]
Ian Armstrong, M.D. has joined the Scientific Advisory Board of Aurora Spine, located in Carlsbad, California.
Two UK academics, Professor Adam Curtis and Dr. Matthew Dalby, at the University of Glasgow, and an astrophysicist, Dr. Stuart Reid, at the University of the West of Scotland, have grown new bone using high frequency vibrations. Their research has shown that it is possible to grow new bone by “nanokicking” mesenchymal stem cells 1, […]
Hammill Medical, a family owned manufacturer of orthopedic implants, has just shipped its 500, 000th knee implant. Located in Maumee, Ohio, just outside of Toledo, Hammill Medical is a full-line contract manufacturer of orthopedic implants, spinal implants, surgical instruments and implantable medical devices. The company first began manufacturing knees in the mid-1970s, said company President […]
James J. Nicholson, M.D., director of the Joint Replacement Center at SUNY Stony Brook Medical Center, in an article for Musculoskeletal Network, points out that obese patients fare worse after surgery both because of excess weight on the joint and because adipose cells contribute biochemically to inflammation and pain. It is well documented, Nicholson notes, […]
Only half of the patients with arthritis who get a hip or knee replaced report a significant improvement in their pain and mobility after their surgery, according to a study reported by Mark Hoffman in Science World Report. According to the study’s lead author, Gillian Hawker, M.D., “Many patients with hip and knee arthritis have […]
Do the smaller, thinner (at the front) prosthetic knees designed for women work any better than non-gender specific components? Alexander Sah, M.D., and John Dearborn, M.D., orthopedic surgeons at the Dearborn-Sah Institute for Joint Restoration decided to find an answer to that question. They investigated how women (who make up 60% of all TKR—total knew […]
Researchers at the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) have found that having a total knee replacement improves the long-term quality of life for patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis. They also found that the implants did not last as long in the younger patients as they did in elderly osteoarthritic patients. The study was reported in […]
The failure rates for hip implants are 29% higher for women than they are for men, wrote John Gever, senior editor of MedPage Today. Gever was reporting on a study done by the Southern California Permanente Research Group in San Diego that examined the records of 35, 140 patients and followed them for a mean […]
Surgical repairs of femurs in patients taking bisphosphonates have high complication rates, report doctors at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS). When they compared the surgical repairs of these kinds of femur fractures in two groups of patients—those who were taking bisphosphonates and those who were not—they found that the group taking the bisphosphonates had significantly […]
If the team led by Gillian Hawker, M.D., of the University of Toronto, is correct only about half of the people who have a knee or hip replaced see meaningful improvements in pain and disability in the months after surgery. The group tracked 2, 400 older adults with osteoarthritis or inflammatory arthritis in Ontario, Canada, […]
What does the activity of 28 genes have to do with osteoarthritis, the most common disorder affecting the knee? Perhaps a lot. Robert H. Brophy M.D. and M. Farrooq Rai, Ph.D., researchers at Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, found four aging-related genes and one obesity-related gene behaving abnormally in torn meniscus tissue. As Jim Dryden […]
Could a coral implant help repair knees crippled by osteoarthritis? A team of scientists from Slovenia believe that it can. They coated a tiny piece of coral, which is a form of highly porous calcium, with human growth factors, named it Agili-C, and implanted it in a disabled knee. Careful observation revealed that the coral […]
Another reason to stop smoking, as if another were needed: Broken bones take longer to heal if the victims are smokers, reports Nancy Walsh, staff writer for MedPage Today, on March 24. In a systematic literature review and a random effects model meta-analysis that included 20 studies with 6, 500 patients and 1, 500 smokers, […]
Tenex Health, of Lake Forest, California, has received 510(k) clearance from the Food and Drug Administration for its TX1 Tissue Removal System. The system is used in surgical procedures where tissue fragmentation and aspiration are required. The company reports that the components of the TX1 System are for single use and are completely disposable. According […]
Family physicians are ordering too many lumbar spine MRI scans, according to a Canadian study reported March 26 by Crystal Phend, senior staff writer for MedPage Today. Only 34% of lower back scans ordered by family physicians were considered appropriate compared with 58% ordered by physicians in other specialties. Derek Emery, M.D. and his colleagues […]
Which U.S. institution receives the most National Institute of Health funding for orthopedic research? According to data released by the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the University of Rochester Medical Center’s (URMC) Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, New York, ranks Number 1. The department received $4.86 million in peer-reviewed NIH research grants in 2012 […]
Are surgeons’ techniques a partial cause of the failure of implanted knees? William Schroer, M.D. of the St. Louis Joint Replacement Institute in St. Louis, Missouri, believes that they are. As reported March 24 by Nancy Walsh, staff writer for MedPage Today, Schroer’s group collected data from six centers between January 2010 and December 2011 […]
How long does a patient have to wait to get a hip or knee tended to in Canada? If a patient fractures a hip in Manitoba, 86% of the repairs are done within the health service benchmark of 48 hours. Across Canada 81% of hip fracture repairs were completed within the benchmark, according to a […]
In what is bad news for players and fans of contact sports, a new study has found that even a single concussion can cause lasting changes in the structure of the brain—changes that bring about cognitive problems later in life. Melissa Healy, writing for the Los Angeles Times, reported that the brains of athletes who […]
A physician-driven study of 40 patients with painful osteolytic vertebra metastases who investigators treated with the Kiva VCF Treatment System by Benvenue Medical, Inc. found that all of the patients experienced a clinically relevant improvement in their pain and statistically significant functional improvement at the end of one month. According to the researchers, the group […]
Esaote North America’s new weight-bearing MRI machine is a new interpretation of an older idea. With the company’s G-scan Brio, patients now can have their anatomy imaged while in a weight-bearing or a standing position.
Each year more than 450, 000 arthroscopic surgeries are performed in the United States to treat meniscal tears. Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, realizing that scant data exist to help doctors determine whether physical therapy or surgery is the better treatment for a patient, decided to look further into the situation. Researchers […]
New knees are not just for older patients. News Medical notes that the procedure is also used for younger patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) whose joints have been severely damaged by the disease. An international, multi-center study led by researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) found that total knee replacements in younger patients […]
As if arthritis sufferers need another reason to get a hip or knee replaced, research presented to the 2013 annual American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) meeting found that joint replacement improved sexual function for 90% of the recipients. For the study 147 patients under the age of 70 who were scheduled for either a […]
Integra LifeSciences is adding a second cobalt chrome rod for its Daytona and Malibu Spinal Systems. According to the firm’s release, the new rod, called the Enhanced Strength and Stiffness rod (ESS) provides more strength and stiffness than is contained in the existing cobalt chrome rod. The company plans a controlled market release of the […]
What percentage of U.S. adults, age 50 and older, are walking around on total knee replacements? Alexander M. Weinstein, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and his colleagues utilized the OsteoArthritis Policy Model, combined it with data on the utilization of total knee replacement and came up with an answer. HealthDay News reports the […]
Integra LifeSciences Holding Corporation has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA to market the latest addition to its shoulder product line, the Proximal Humeral Fracture Plate System. The company plans a controlled release of the product during 2013. The company release says that the Integra Proximal Humeral Fracture Plate System offers two plate designs to […]
This is good news for TKR patients. Ninety-eight percent of those who were working prior to their joint replacement surgery returned to work. And 89% did not just go back to work, they returned to their previous positions. This is the result of a survey conducted by an independent third party of more than 660 […]
Is it possible that race could be a factor in the decision to amputate a leg? Chris Kaiser, cardiology editor of MedPage Today, writes that a recent study found data which indicates that African American patients have greater odds of undergoing amputation than do white patients despite access to high rated hospitals or above average […]
How much do spinal implants—the screws, plates and cages used in spinal surgery—cost a hospital? A study, presented at the recent AAOS conference and reported on by Nancy Walsh, staff writer for MedPage Today, found wide differences in what hospitals paid for similar devices. In their study Samuel Bederman, M.D., Ph.D., and Sohrab Pahlavan, M.D., […]
Hatch Medical, a medical device incubator and technology brokerage firm, has received two U.S. patents for a unique and interesting percutaneous spinal stabilization system. The firm had entered into a joint venture with physician inventor J. Kevin McGraw, M.D., to develop and market his “microinvasive” spinal stabilization technology to spine surgeons everywhere. McGraw’s invention is […]
Amedica Corporation has now implanted 10, 000 of its Valeo Interbody Fusion Devices in patients located in ten countries worldwide, according to a company press release. The Valeo Interbody Fusion Device System is made of Amedica’s proprietary Silicon Nitride ceramic technology and is used during surgical procedures to treat spinal disorders such as spondylolisthesis, scoliosis, […]
Is a treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy likely in the near future? It is, if the stem cell remedy University of Minnesota Professor Rita Perlingeiro developed for mice with the ailment works on humans as well. Muscular dystrophy is a genetic disorder, for which there is no effective treatment. It causes muscles to weaken and […]
A plastic made of shrimp shells, one of the components in Elmer’s Glue and a biodegradable polymer used in medical applications may have the potential to become a scaffold for a broken or a missing bone—a placeholder structure that can be replaced with genuine bone as the body heals. Creator of the plastic is Richard […]
OsteoMed, a privately held medical device company in Addison, Texas, is launching OsteoVation QWIK, its product designed to fill bony voids and gaps of the skeletal system. A composite of calcium phosphate and calcium sulfate granules, the material, according to a company release, creates a macroporous construct that allows for faster bone remodeling while maintaining […]
Orthopedic surgeons at New York University’s Langone Medical Center are the first in the Northeast to use a new sensor that incorporates microelectronics and wireless communication to give them real-time data about the positioning and tension of ligaments during total knee replacement (TKA) surgery. Called the OrthoSensor Knee Balancer, the device and its accompanying software […]
DiscGenics, Inc., a privately funded spinal therapeutics company located in Salt Lake City, Utah, has successfully completed an animal study that demonstrates the safety of its product designed to reduce back pain caused by degenerative disc disease. The product is called Injectable Discosphere Cell Therapy (IDCT), a substance produced from adult human disc stem cells […]
Premia Spine, Ltd, a medical device company headquartered in Tel Aviv, is launching the TOPS spinal implant—which had been under development for years with another Israeli firm, Impliant, Ltd. TOPS is an acronym for Total Posterior Spine System and it differs from other spinal implants in several ways but most pronounced is that it has […]
Amedica Corporation, a spinal and reconstructive medical device manufacturer in Salt Lake City, Utah, has received a patent for a spinal disc implant based on its proprietary silicon nitride (Si3N4) material. Called the Total Disc Implant, it has not yet been cleared by the FDA. Company officials say the disc implant differs from existing metal-on-metal […]
There is one less thing for patients and their doctors to worry about: patients with diabetes who undergo total knee replacement (TKA) surgery do not have an increased risk of surgical complications when compared to patients without diabetes. That is the welcome conclusion of a Kaiser Permanente study recently published in The Journal of Bone […]
The jury is still out on barefoot or near-barefoot running. In a 10-week study, 10 of 19 runners who began doing some of their mileage in Vibram FiveFingers (a kind of runner’s slipper with toes) showed signs of foot bone injury at the end of the study when compared to one of 17 runners who […]
Good news for those undergoing stem cell transplants and chemotherapy is contained in research by a team at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, and reported by Medical News Today. The team found that distinct niches exist in bone marrow that nurture different types of blood stem cells. Further, each type of blood […]
“Carpal tunnel injury claims are among the most expensive work injury claims in California with higher than average indemnity and medical payments, ” reports a study by the California Workers’ Compensation Institute. Researchers analyzed California compensation claims beginning with year 2001 and found that though carpal tunnel syndrome accounts for less than 1% of the […]
At the fourth annual Youth Sports Safety Summit in early February, Dawn Comstock, associate professor of epidemiology at the Colorado School of Public Health, confirmed what many have suspected—that neck strength could be a predictor of concussions. Since concussions are caused by the brain banging around inside the skull, the weaker the neck, the more […]
Young athletes have long been convinced of the importance of wearing helmets when riding bicycles or playing football, but have been slow to accept them when participating in snow-related sports. A study by researchers at Johns Hopkins found that 120, 000 ski and snowboard related head injuries are reported in the United States each year […]
Oh those Aussies! David Brill, writing in Australian Doctor, reports that Australians with ceramic hip replacements are being left red-faced by embarrassing squeaking sounds. Regrettably the rude noises can occur during sex and have been mistaken for farts.
Matthias Epple, a professor of inorganic chemistry at the Universitat Duisburg, in Essen, Germany, became fascinated by the interface between biology and medical science—specifically how to create bone. He noted that “the repair of bone defects presents a real challenge for surgeons. When possible they collect the patient’s own bone from various locations, such as […]
ulrich medical USA, Inc. is releasing a new spinal implant, called the flamenco Thoracolumbar Rod-Screw System, into the U.S. market. The system is designed to enhance decompression and stabilization of the thoracic and lumbosacral spine when used for fusion surgeries. “This product provides simple, straight-forward instrumentation and maximized tray layout, which helps decrease critical operating […]
Women have more problems with hip replacement surgery than do men. That is the conclusion of a study of more than 35, 000 cases of artificial hip implants by Maria Inacio, an epidemiologist with Southern California Permanente Medical Group in San Diego, California. Inacio conducted the study over a period of three years and found […]
For patients suffering with vertebral compression fractures (VCFs) which treatment is superior —balloon kyphoplasty or the Kiva VCF Treatment System by Benvenue Medical, Inc.? An independent, peer-reviewed study published online and in the February 15 edition of Spine, found that the Kiva system significantly restored vertebral body wedge deformity and resulted in lower rates of […]
In what may prove to be good news for victims of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIA) ApiFix Ltd, of Misgav, Israel, has received the CE Mark for its own minimally invasive treatment system. Noting that today’s gold standard for correction of AIS involves the permanent spinal fusion of an average of 10 motion levels, the use […]
Kevin Lester, M.D., of Community Regional Medical Center, Fresno, California, has performed the first three Navio PFS unicondylar knee replacement (UKR) surgeries in the U.S. on patients suffering from medial osteoarthritis. Blue Belt Technologies, Inc, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, received 510(k) clearance to market the NavioPFS system in the United States at the end of November […]
The FDA has, for the first time, awarded its 510(k) clearance for an additively manufactured polymer implant. The product, called the OsteoFab Patient Specific Cranial Device (OPSCD), is manufactured by Oxford Performance Materials (OPM) of South Windsor, Connecticut. “OsteoFab” is OPM’s brand for additively manufactured medical and implant parts produced from PEKK (polyetherketoneketone) polymer. OPM’s […]
To snowboard or to disallow snowboarding is the question for ski resorts in the West. Now researchers at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center have examined injury data from the Mogul Medical Clinic at Taos Ski Valley from the 2006-2007 through 2009-2010 seasons and found that there were more accidents when snowboarding was […]
Kimberly-Clark, a company known for Kleenex and Huggies, announces the launch of Cervicool, a water cooled radio-frequency system for treating pain located at the cervical facet joint. With the addition of Cervicool, Kimberly-Clark reports that it now has systems in place to treat, with cooled radiofrequency treatments, all segments of the spine from the cervical […]
Bonesupport AB of Lund, Sweden, a company that produces injectable bone substitutes for orthopedic, trauma and bone infections, announced that its next generation of the Cerament family, called Cerament|G, has received the CE mark and that the company is immediately launching it in CE mark countries. Cerament|G is the first injectable antibiotic eluting, osteoconductive, ceramic […]
How prevalent is total knee replacement (TKR) in the United States? A team led by Elena Losina, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, used a computer simulation of the history of knee osteoarthritis, together with data from two national surveys to estimate the incidence of TKR among U.S. patients with end-stage knee osteoarthritis. […]
What does the corrosion in the legs of oil rigs in sea water have to do with failing hip implants? Quite a lot, believe some surgeons who are using the technology developed to test oil rig corrosion to do the same thing for their hip implant patients. The team at Southampton General Hospital, United Kingdom, […]
A blast of sound from a palm-sized device helps fractures heal faster according to a report by Carol Davis, writing in Mail Online in the UK. The battery-powered item sends pulses of ultrasound into the bone which appears to start the body’s natural healing mechanisms. The British government body NICE (National Institute for Health and […]
The long wait for a hip or knee replacements in Nova Scotia may be over. According to David Jackson, writing in the Herald News, statistics on the Health Department’s website show that less than half of the patients who had a knee replacement from April 2011 to September 2012 had it done within six months. […]
The AxioMed Spine Corporation, of Garfield Heights, Ohio, has introduced its Freedom Cervical Disc in Europe and successful implanted its first such device in Switzerland. The firm, which received the CA Mark for it in 2012, developed the total disc replacement device for the treatment of cervical degenerative disc disease. AxioMed’s Chief Operating Officer Jim […]
The faculties of two universities, the Department of Musculoskeletal Science at the University of Southampton and the University of Edinburgh’s School of Chemistry, both in the UK, joined forces to develop a polymer implant using stem cells. The research was intended to find ways to extend the time an implant, such a hip replacement joint, […]
The first CT system that can image seated, supine and standing patients has received FDA 510(k) clearance. Called the Planmed Verity extremity scanner, the device is designed to be used for pre- and post-operative imaging with better resolution, patient adaptability, and significantly lower dose than full-body CTs. Unlike other 3D imaging devices, Planmed Verity also […]
The use of 3D printers to create models in plastic is no longer startlingly new—but a printer that can lay down human stem cells in a three-dimensional pattern is something else. According to Jesse Emspak, writing for Discovery News, that is what a team of researchers at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland, led by Will Shu, […]
Stanmore Implants, a London firm specializing in the design and manufacture of patient-specific orthopedic implants, has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA to market its Sculptor Robotic Guidance Arm in the United States. The device is used for precision implant placement in unicompartmental knee surgery—also referred to as partial knee resurfacing. Partial knee resurfacing only […]
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have rejuvenated aged blood stem cells in mice—leading to the possibility they could do the same thing for humans. Megan Messerly, writer for the Daily Californian, reported that the scientists’ treatment appeared to make the elderly mice more active than they normally would have been and to have […]
Out of Kansas has come an app on an iPod or iPhone that can instantly help detect a possible concussion. Roy Wenzl, writing for the Wichita Eagle, reports that inventor Chase Curtiss, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, has received FDA approval for the app called SWAY Balance. Curtis explains that his app does not diagnose concussions, as […]
A chemistry professor at Case Western Reserve University is trying to find out why some of the world’s toughest plastics wear out as fast as they do when used in hip and knee implants. Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene can be tougher to scratch than carbon steel—so why does it wear out so rapidly in hips […]
Six weeks after receiving FDA clearance for its NavioPFS system, Blue Belt Technologies, Inc., of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has made its first U.S. system sale to Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno, California. In a release from PR Newswire, Blue Belt officials said they expect “that Community Regional will establish itself as the first U.S.-based center […]
The spinal implant device, called K7C Cervical Spacer, which uses Evonik Corporation’s Vestakeep PEEK (polyether ether ketone), has received the FDA’s 510(k) clearance for use as an intervertebral body fusion (IBF) device. Michael Smith, founder and CEO of K7 LLC, attributed Vestakeep PEEK’s durability as a key component in gaining FDA 510(k) clearance. “We could […]
Bone Therapeutics, SA, an international biopharmaceutical company focused on innovative cell therapy products for the treatment of bone diseases, has successfully closed a Series D funding which raised 7.7 million Euros from current investors and the Walloon Region. The company is headquartered at the Biopôle of Gosselies, which is south of Brussels, Belgium. The funds […]
It is not the amount of physical activity but the intensity of it that determines how long a cross-linked polyethylene joint implant will last. That is the conclusion of Rachel Senden, Ph.D., of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology at Atrium Medical Center in Heerlen, Netherlands. According to a report in Orthopaedics Today, Senden […]
Amedica Corporation, a spinal and reconstructive medical device manufacturer located in Salt Lake City, Utah, has added three new executives to its leadership team and reassigned a fourth.
The country’s first clinical trial of the stem cell drug, Cartistem, designed to repair knee cartilage damaged by aging, trauma or degenerative diseases, is underway at the Rush University Medical Center. According to the university’s press release, Cartistem is made from mesenchymal stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood that has been supplied by donors. […]
The British health agency, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), has announced that it supports the use of an ultrasound bone healing device as an alterative to surgery for fractures that are slow to heal. In a press release the NICE stated that, “the available clinical data on the effectiveness of EXOGEN […]
The synovium is the thin membrane that covers the inside of hip and knee joints. Now researcher Nobutake Ozeki, of Tokyo Mental and Dental University in Japan, with his colleagues, has found that periodically injecting stem cells from the synovium into knee joints may delay cartilage degeneration. The researchers began by injecting synovium stem cells […]
PR Newswire reports that JointMetrix Medical, LLC has developed novel remote monitoring technology to use in conjunction with joint replacement surgery. The company described the workings of the technology at the recent 2013 meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society in San Antonio, Texas. JointMetrix Medical’s remote monitoring technology enables continuous and accurate measurement of patients’ […]
The British are at it again—first a trachea and now a nose. The BBC Focus magazine recently profiled the work of Professor Alex Seifalian, of University College, London, who is leading a team to create a new nose for a London businessman who lost his original nose to cancer. The trial, if successful, will be […]
Conventus Orthopaedics, Inc. a privately held company focusing on treatment for peri-articular fractures, has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA to market its Conventus DRS implant within the United States. The implant is designed to provide a less invasive means to treat patients with distal radius fractures—hopefully returning them to daily activities sooner and with […]
Chalk up another first for stem cells. Researchers at Kyoto University, Japan, have successfully generated kidney tissue from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS). Kenji Osafune, associate professor at the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application and his colleagues, generated part of a urinary tubule using iPS cells. By adding several substances to iPS cells, […]
If an athlete suffers a head injury on the field it is considered essential that the extent of the injury be determined as quickly as possible. Until recently, concussions were diagnosed by asking the victim a series of questions and observing his movements. Now Paul Stone, writing for Mashable news website, reports that Infrascan, a […]
Laura Miller, writing in Becker’s Spine Review, reports the encouraging news that only 6% of patients in the United States are concerned about the financial relationships that may exist between their surgeons and representatives of the medical device industry. However, a study published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, found that a majority […]
John Keilman, writing in the Chicago Tribune about a study published January 22 in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, suggests that the “Holy Grail” of spotting brain injuries in athletes may have been discovered by work done by renowned researcher Dr. Julian Bailes. Dr. Bailes is a nationally recognized researcher regarding the impact of […]
Research into a patient’s comorbidities when they undergo a total knee arthroplasty may explain pain that occurs two to five years later, according to research reported by Lynda Williams, senior MedwireNews reporter. Researchers Jasvinder Singh, M.D. of the University of Alabama, Birmingham, and David Lewallen, M.D., Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota, found patients […]
High performance polymers, which have allowed orthopedic implants to become routine treatments for the most severe orthopedic products, as manufactured by one of the leading innovators in this are—Solvay Specialty of Alpharetta, Georgia—are now available for the rapidly growing Chinese hospital market. The percentage of China’s population which is aged 65 and over will double […]
The one-payment movement for knee surgery is gaining momentum. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina announce a deal with Duke University Health System that allows the insurer’s customers to make one payment for the procedure. The payment will cover care for a pre-surgical period of 30 days before the hospitalization, the surgery and […]
A course in film-making is not part of the curriculum for budding orthopedists but that has not stopped a group of them from making three-minute videos that explain their work in layman’s terms. The Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS) sponsored the Video Outreach Competition to document the significance of research into orthopedics and explain the work […]
Leprosy is a disease that has plagued humans for thousands of years. More than 200, 000 new cases arise every year. It occurs almost exclusively in the developing world, causes deformities and life-long disability when left untreated and has so much social stigma associated with it that the disease is largely neglected. That situation is […]
Obese patients are more likely to have surgical treatment for a slipped or ruptured disc (lumbar disc herniation) than are individuals who are not obese. Moreover, obesity increases operative time, blood loss and length of hospital stay, according to research published in the January 2013 Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. Overall, obese patients had […]
Mesoblast Limited’s NeoFuse stem cell product showed positive results in the firm’s Phase 2 lumbar spinal fusion trial, according Mesoblast Chief Executive Silviu Itescu speaking at the annual JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco. The results suggest that Mesoblast’s NeoFuse product comprising allogeneic mesenchymal precursor cells (MPCs) is as effective for interbody lumbar fusion […]
When the cartilage that cushions the bones in the knee erodes or tears, there is little that surgeons can do to repair it. Without a natural blood supply to help cartilage heal, doctors have resorted to a process called microfracturing. This involves drilling holes in the surrounding tissue and bone in an attempt to stimulate […]
Another hopeful theory bites the dust! Vitamin D supplements had no impact on the pain of knee osteoarthritis (OA), researchers discovered in a randomized placebo-controlled trial of 146 people with symptomatic knee OA. Vitamin D, the absence of which causes rickets, is essential for bone health. But its connection to OA is, we now know, […]
The ability of high school athletes to focus and switch tasks readily amid distractions was compromised for up to two months following concussions, according to a study conducted at the University of Oregon (UO). The findings are based on cognitive exercises used five times over the two months with a pair of sensitive computer-based measuring […]
Israel-based Expanding Orthopedics Inc. announced that it has sold its 1, 000th XPED pedicle screw—arguably the most technologically sophisticated pedicle screw in the world. The 1, 000th XPED was implanted at the Rizzoli Institute in Bologna, Italy. The specialty screws are designed to provide enhanced anchoring in compromised bone. Stefano Boriani, M.D., director of the […]
The country of Qatar is in the final stage of launching a national cord blood stem cell collection and storage program for the benefit of the Qatari community. The program will give all Qatari parents the opportunity to donate their babies cord blood to a community bank. “Those donated units would then be made available […]
Responding to the importance of “patients being part of the solution, ” M.E. Hecht, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon, has written a guide for patients about to undergo hip replacement surgery. Titled A Practical Guide to Hip Surgery, the book provides readers with all the details before undergoing hip replacement or hip resurfacing surgery, directly from […]
Which patients are most at risk for having to have a hip replacement procedure? A study conducted at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard Medical School found that “younger, taller and heavier patients, and those receiving a cemented femoral component, had greater likelihood of undergoing a revision total hip replacement over a 12-year follow-up […]
Bioventus LLC, a biologics company formed in May 2012 as an offshoot of Smith & Nephew, the global medical technology business, is launching its products in Italy. This month the division of the Smith & Nephew biologics and clinical therapies business in Italy, including employees and products, will transition over to Bioventus. “With the Bioventus […]
From CTV News comes an account of stem cells restoring the sight of a man who had gone blind with a rare disease called corneal limbal stem cell deficiency. Normal cells on Taylor Binns’ corneas were being replaced with scar tissue that was leading to painful ulcers that were clouding his vision. Within two years […]
Laura Miller, writing in Becker’s Spine Review, reports that spine surgeons experienced a 6% growth in average compensation between 2009 and 2010. The average spine surgeon made $760, 782 in 2010, according to MGMA’s Physician Compensation and Production Survey. Spine surgeons working in the Midwest made the most money, taking home $777, 988. The Midwest […]
Asia is presently leading the world in stem cell research. Ever since two scientists, Sir John Gurdon from the United Kingdom and Shinya Yamanaka from Japan, shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2012 for their work with stem cells, stem cell research has had a huge following in Southeast Asia. According to Crispin […]
Much like Tom Sawyer painting the fence, researchers at the Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science have discovered that mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) send out “homing signals” that recruit other stem cells and mobilize them to do the work of healing wounds. They found that MSC s are better at […]
Surgeons at Emory University, Atlanta, have implanted stem cells from the brain and spinal cord of aborted fetuses into the spinal cord of a patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Researchers hope the injections will slow the progress of the disease and release growth factors that will prevent the motor neurons from dying. The injected […]
Could dead bodies be a source for viable stem cells? As Jessica Hamzelou wrote in the December 2012 issue of New Scientist Health, human bone marrow contains mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), which can develop into bone, cartilage, fat and other cell types. They can also be transplanted and tend not to be rejected by the […]
While it is far too early to celebrate, we should note that researchers at the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine are part of a group that has found that transplanted neural stem cells slow the progress of a form of Lou Gehrig’s disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS) in mice. Though encouraging, because ALS has […]
Gerard S. Carlozzi, 56, the former executive vice-president and chief operating officer of Integra LifeSciences Corporation, died on Christmas Day, 2012, at Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia.
Executives of Aurora Spine, LLC, a Carlsbad, California company that specializes in minimally-invasive regenerative technologies, announce that the firm is now ISO certified by the British Standards Institute. The firm also complies with the European Union medical device directives for CE marking. “This certification represents a major achievement and milestone for Aurora Spine. The successful […]
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the Navio PFS system, made by Blue Belt Technologies, Inc., for performing unicondylar knee replacement (UHR) surgeries. Company officials say the system aims to provide improved control to surgeons when they are shaving the bone tissue in preparation for placement of an implant. Blue Belt is located […]
Ferris Jabr, writing in Scientific American, has issued a strong warning about clinics across the country that are offering a variety of untested stem cell treatments for cosmetic and medical purposes. Jabr relates the experience of cosmetic surgeon Allan Wu with a patient in her late 60s. The woman had come to Wu because she […]
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted 510(k) clearance to the Ascendx VCF Repair System, produced by Ascendx Spine, Inc., of Winter Park, Florida. Previously cleared by the FDA is the company’s Acu-Cut Vertebral Augmentation System. Both products are used to treat vertebral compression fractures (VCF) and both have been approved for marketing in […]
Could wood be a practical replacement for bone? Researchers from the National Research Council of Italy (CNR) writing in a forthcoming issue of the International Journal of Healthcare Technology and Management suggest that it can. It turns out that the structure of some woods at the microscopic level is very close to that of natural […]
Orthopedic surgeons and anesthesiologists with Jewish Orthopaedic Care, a part of KentuckyOne Health, have researched and implemented a new protocol that drastically reduces the number of patients who require a blood transfusion following total joint replacement surgery. They found that the use of transexamic acid with patients undergoing total knee and hip replacement surgeries reduced […]
Following in the footsteps of Twin City Orthopedics of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Florida Blue and the Mayo Clinic announced collaboration aimed at providing a knee replacement at one cost. Like many surgeries, a knee replacement involves numerous individual medical procedures and processes. When done separately, the cost of care adds up quickly. Florida Blue and Mayo […]
Misonix, Inc., of Farmington, New York, manufacturer of the Misonix BoneScalpel, an ultrasonic bone cutting system, has terminated its distribution agreement with Aesculap, Inc. Since January 2011, Aesculap has been a non-exclusive, private label distributor of the BoneScalpel in the United States for clinical applications in spine and cranial surgery. Under the non-exclusive distribution agreement, […]
The first six LOQTEQ Systems, manufactured by aap implantate AG in Germany, have received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). LOQTEQ is an anatomic orthopedic trauma plating system that, according to company officials, enables locking and compression with a single hole, enhancing ease of use for surgeons and improved operating room […]
Kevin Murphy, M.D., an oncologist and specialist in disorders of the pediatric brain and spine, has joined the Aurora Spine, LLC Advisory Board of Physicians.
With 48 million Americans living with arthritic disease, what is a non-profit to do? This year doctors with Hofmann Arthritis Institute donated their time and expertise to provide free hip and knee replacements. They treated eight patients, individuals from Utah and Idaho who did not have health insurance, as part of Operation Walk USA 2012.The […]
Aurora Spine, LLC, in a partnership with Axxcess Health Care Group, has raised $2 million in a series “A” investment round. According to Ken Gross, CFO of Aurora Spine, the Carlsbad, California, company expects to raise a total of $5 million. Aurora Spine plans to use the Axxcess Capital Healthcare Group financing to fuel Aurora’s […]
Hold the mashed potatoes! Being overweight increases the risk of needing a knee replacement. But, according to Kerry Grens, writing for Reuters Health, a new study finds that knee replacement surgery may also raise a person’s risk of gaining weight. Researchers who analyzed the medical records of nearly 1, 000 knee replacement patients found that […]
A Vienna researcher developed a new treatment for severe orthopedic injuries to the extremities during her research fellowship at the Center for Advanced Orthopedic Studies at the Harvard Medical School. The researcher is Martina Hauser-Schinhan from the University Department of Orthopaedics at the MedUni, Vienna, Austria. In her research Hauser-Schinhan used the body’s own stem […]
A Europe-wide consortium of over 20 universities and 10 pharmaceutical companies, led by Oxford University and the drug firm Roche, is planning to generate a giant resource of stem cells that they will derive from patients’ skin or blood cells. The consortium called the StemBANCC aims to derive 1, 500 stem cell lines from 500 […]
Female athletes tear their anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) six to eight times more than male athletes who play the same sport. A leading sports medicine surgeon contends that by incorporating a program into the regular training regimen teaching women how better to jump and land, more women will be able to stay on the playing […]
A research team consisting of four Harvard professors, a researcher from the National Committee for Quality Assurance and L. Gregory Pawlson, from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation, found that Medicare Advantage (MA HMO) plans may be offering more efficient patient care than do Medicare Part A and B plans. As reported by Anthony Brino, […]
Covidien, Inc., a New Haven, Connecticut, based healthcare products provider, is launching its AS Meniscal Repair Device. According to company officials, the AS Meniscal Repair Device allows orthopedic surgeons to perform “all-inside, ” minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in the knee using the “all-suture” method of fixation. “Any meniscal repair system […]
Back in September 2008, FDA denied FzioMed, Inc.’s premarket approval application for its product Oxiplex Gel. FzioMed has now filed a petition for reconsideration with the FDA.
A team of researchers in Kobe, Japan have succeeded in using stem cells to improve the motor skills in monkeys with Parkinson’s disease.
A team of researchers in Kobe, Japan have succeeded in using stem cells to improve the motor skills in monkeys with Parkinson’s disease.
Three hundred patients have now been enrolled in a Level 1 clinical study that investigators call “the most comprehensive study ever performed on lumbar discectomy.” The study is of the Barricaid Prosthesis made by Intrinsic Therapeutics, Inc.
Both rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA) are disabling ailments but patients with RA have an increased risk for hip dislocation following hip replacement surgery compared to patients with OA.
A device made by Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation has won first place in the “Capital Equipment” category of the 2012 "Excellence in Surgical Products Awards" (ESP) competition sponsored by Surgical Products magazine.
A device made by Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation has won first place in the “Capital Equipment” category of the 2012 "Excellence in Surgical Products Awards" (ESP) competition sponsored by Surgical Products magazine.
The investigators found the concussion rate to be three times greater in male hockey players and 5.5 times greater in female players than what researchers had recorded prior to 2009-2010.
The process of 3D bioprinting—producing human tissue using inks composed of living cells—has moved from the University laboratory to the corporate board room.
Jeff Schoenfeld, CEO of PAL Health Technologies, Inc., a privately held company headquartered in central Illinois, died at his Naples, Florida residence on November 28.
Vexim, a French medical device firm specializing in the minimally invasive treatment of vertebral fractures, reports a 93% sales growth for the first half of 2012 as compared to the same period in 2011. First half sales totaled 1.1 million Euros.
With the help of a grant of $100, 000, the intersection of football and concussion will be studied at the Concussion Management Clinic in the Department of Orthopaedics in the University at Buffalo (UB) School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
Do individuals who have a total joint arthroplasty (TJA) lose weight following their surgery? With obesity being one of the major risk factors leading to the need for a hip or joint replacement, and joint pain severely restricting activity, the case that weight loss will occur postoperatively as mobility improves is both logical and intuitively compelling. But is this really what happens?
A Dutch study of professional volleyball players has found that 25% have symptoms associated with a shoulder artery injury that could cause irreversible damage to their fingers.
A Wall Street Journal report puts the cabash on the idea that a hospital’s acquisition of physician practices increases efficiency. The report states that there has been a fivefold increase, since 2000, in the number of hospital-employed specialists who see patients in hospitals.
After it introduced a series of video-based “decision aids” for people with knee and hip osteoarthritis, Group Health Cooperative saw a significant drop in the number of knee and hip replacement surgeries performed, as well as a drop in the cost of care.
After it introduced a series of video-based “decision aids” for people with knee and hip osteoarthritis, Group Health Cooperative saw a significant drop in the number of knee and hip replacement surgeries performed, as well as a drop in the cost of care.
BONESUPPORT, the maker of an injectable bone substitute for orthopedic trauma and bone infections, has signed a multi-year distribution agreement with Biomet, Inc., a manufacturer of musculoskeletal medical products.
Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center and Case Western Reserve University believe that they have made a significant break through in the use of stem cells to treat multiple sclerosis.
Two of three patients in a phase I/II clinical trial of stem cells for chronic spinal cord injury have shown considerable gains in sensory function. The three patients received injections of StemCells, Inc.'s HuCNS-SC purified human adult neural stem cells.
Because hip and knee replacement surgery is so expensive in Alaska, one insurance company, Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield, is paying air fare and hotel for members to receive the same treatment in Washington State at a lower cost.
Despite the best efforts of hospitals and doctors the wait times for hip replacement surgery in eastern Ontario has gotten longer instead of shorter. Patients in eastern Ontario have the longest wait time of anyone in the province. Those desiring knee replacements are ranked 10th among 14 health regions in waiting time.
A new study coming out of Utrecht University of the Netherlands has found that, “Total hip replacement patients 60 and older were 25 times more likely to have a heart attack within the first two weeks after surgery. Those with total knee replacements had a slightly greater risk. But after six weeks, the risk returned to baseline.ʺ
Researchers from Scotland’s University of Glasgow Colleges of Science and Engineering and Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences have come up with a stem cell powered implant that, they firmly believe, will revolutionize orthopedic surgery.
Osseon Therapeutics, Inc. has named Ron Clough as its new chief operative officer. Most recently Clough was vice-president of operations at Theken Spine and was a key executive in the acquisition and integration of Theken Spine into Integra LifeSciences.
Alphatec Spine, Inc. is launching its BridgePoint Spinous Process Fixation System, a device designed to enable spine surgeons to immobilize and stabilize spinal segments without the need for pedicle screw and rod constructs.
The American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) has awarded Craig Young, M.D., professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Family and Community Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), its 2012 Founders Award.
In an industry built on the religion of individualized treatment, a program touting single priced surgery is either apostasy or game changing or both. A Minnesota orthopedic practice has that vision and may have more in common with Target Stores than Mayo Clinic. Is this the future? See for yourself.
When is a blood cell not a blood cell? When scientists from John Hopkins turn it into a stem cell that looks and behaves as it did when it was part of a 6-day-old embryo. Elias Zambidis, M.D., Ph.D. has coaxed adult blood cells to become induced-pluripotent stem cells (iPS)–adult cells reprogrammed to an embryonic-like state, and bearing unprecedented efficiencies.
It sounds like a crazy idea but it should be taken seriously because the proponent Anthony Hollander, M.D. has used similar technology to develop his latest idea–a stem cell bandage for patients with torn knee cartilage.
Blame it on Title IX. Soccer, basketball and volley ball–These are sports that require quick turns and abrupt landings. Girls who play these sports are up to eight times more likely than boys to rupture the anterior cruciate ligament of their knee.
MedCure will open a tissue bank in Amsterdam, Netherlands, in September. This tissue bank will be the first of its kind in the region and will provide human cadaveric tissue specimens to universities, researchers and educators in Europe.
A federal appeals court refused to order the Obama administration to stop funding embryonic stem cell research. The plaintiffs argued that the research relies on destroyed human embryos.
David W. Polly, M.D. and Stefan Parent, M.D. have received the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation Prospective Clinical Research Grant for Spine Care.
The University of Northern Ireland, Galway (NUIG) and two Chinese research institutes have signed an agreement to share and exchange research on biomaterials—defined as substances implanted in the body, such as hip implants, stents, heart valves, wound dressings and systems for delivering genes, drugs and vaccines.
Shu-Tung Li, Ph.D., the founder and CEO of Collagen Matrix, Inc. is the 2012 inductee into the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame. The recognition is for Li’s “Patented technology related to collagen based medical implants for the repair and regeneration of soft tissue and bones.”
Maxx Orthopaedic Inc. has launched a knee implant designed specifically for an Asian population. A knee replacement surgeon based in the state of Goa, India, conducted the initial trials of what the manufacturer has named the “Freedom Knee.”
Maxx Orthopaedic Inc. has launched a knee implant designed specifically for an Asian population. A knee replacement surgeon based in the state of Goa, India, conducted the initial trials of what the manufacturer has named the “Freedom Knee.”
It is the same idea as the non-stick frying pan—but this coating keeps bacteria from sticking to medical instruments. Researchers tested a new class of bacteria-resistant polymers on the surfaces of medical instruments and found that they, very effectively, repelled bacteria.
Hard on the heels of its just-released new product line Lucent Ti-Bond PEEK interbody implants, Spinal Elements Inc. announces completion of its first series of surgeries using its new Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) lumbar system.
Can a blood biomarker predict the likelihood of an ACL injury? It can, according to a discovery by Lt. Col. Steven Svoboda, an orthopedic surgeon at West Point’s Keller Army Community Hospital. Svoboda is also head physician for the Army football team
PAL Health Technologies, Inc. a manufacturer of ankle braces, is introducing two new lines of braces for ankles. One line, called Transition Ankle, is a non-custom traditional brace that provides enhanced lateral support for a variety of ankle ailments from night splints for heel pain to boots for postoperative walking.
ulrich medical USA, is releasing into the U.S. market a German-designed spinal implant system for the anterior surgical stabilization of the thoracic and lumbar spine. Called the golden gate Lateral Plate System, the device has a two-part plate design which, gives the surgeon an unobstructed field of vision and open access to the intervertebral space during surgery.
By using stem cells scientists have found a way to increase the production of red blood cells. This discovery could significantly increase the blood supply needed for blood transfusions, the researchers said, and their methods can be used to produce any blood type.
To age well, walking is not enough exercise, according to a study of physical activity in Australians over age 65. Lead author of the study said that to maximize health gains in old age, the elderly need to engage in a range of activities that improve not only cardio respiratory fitness but also muscle strength, flexibility and balance.
To age well, walking is not enough exercise, according to a study of physical activity in Australians over age 65. Lead author of the study said that to maximize health gains in old age, the elderly need to engage in a range of activities that improve not only cardio respiratory fitness but also muscle strength, flexibility and balance.
We always suspected that jet lag was not good for us. Now a study reports that athletes who travel through more than five time zones for competitions are two to three times more likely to get sick, when compared to their playing games at home.
The Journal of Hand Surgery editor-in-chief Grey Giddins has called for the profession to stop using implants with known poor outcomes. Citing several recent studies, the editorial asks why these implants—which perform worse than certain hip replacement implants that are now deemed unacceptable—are still widely used.
A hand-held robotic “smart drill” for use in partial-knee replacements is making its debut at the British Orthopaedic Association in September. Already approved for use in Europe, the Navio PFS system is aiming, next year, at the American market.
High on the list of concerns for athletes are injuries such as ACL and meniscus tears to the knee, rotator cuff injuries and Achilles tendon ruptures. Some recent innovations to improve care for these injuries have relied on scaffolds made from nano-sized fibers, which can guide tissue to grow in an organized way. Unfortunately, says Drs. Mauck and Baker, these approaches have not been very successful at colonizing cells because the scaffold fibers are too tightly packed.
Because the world’s second experimental esophagus-replacement surgery—utilizing stem cells—to be performed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was a success, the surgeon involved will be starting clinical trials of the procedure this September.
James Helgager, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon, implanted the first vitamin E Total Knee Replacement in San Diego County.
Men dominate orthopedic surgery but women are catching up—sort of. Orthopedics has the lowest percentage of women in a surgical specialty—with women making up only 4.3% of board-certified orthopedic surgeons.
Concussions and even minor bumps to the head can speed up the brain’s aging process, according to a University of Michigan study published in Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews journal.
Colorado-based Regenerative Science lost the first round when a U.S. District Judge ruled in favor of the U. S. Food and Drug Administration’s position that the company’s stem cell therapy is a drug. Attorneys representing Regenerative Science filed a notice of appeal earlier this month.
Conventus Orthopaedics, Inc., a fracture fixation company, has completed enrollment for a clinical study of its Conventus DRS Implant for peri-articular fractures. The international multi-center clinical study has enrolled 60 patients from six institutions throughout Germany and Switzerland.
Perhaps only in India do the opportunities exist to perform such rare surgery. Joint replacement surgeon Harsimra Singh, M.D., gave new life to a 50-year-old man whose bones, from the age of 35, were bent stiff to 90 degrees.
The initial biomechanical testing phase for NewVert’s Octopus Spinal Annular Repair System (OSA) has been successfully completed. OSA is a deformable implant composed of nitinol, a super-elastic shape-memory alloy capable of providing mechanical support to the annular spinal tissues during post-implantation healing.
The initial biomechanical testing phase for NewVert’s Octopus Spinal Annular Repair System (OSA) has been successfully completed. OSA is a deformable implant composed of nitinol, a super-elastic shape-memory alloy capable of providing mechanical support to the annular spinal tissues during post-implantation healing.
A husband and wife team of stem cell researchers, at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), along with a private company, have been awarded $20 million of a $150 million grant authorized by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
Cleveland BioLabs Inc. has reached a $4 million deal with the Russian Federation to assist with the development of a drug to stimulate stem cell growth. The funding will assist preclinical and clinical studies of CBLB612, a drug designed to treat patients with radiation-induced bone-marrow stem-cell deficiencies.
Doctors in the United Kingdom are not telling their patients about the benefits of exercise, to their detriment. The problem begins with the medical schools which fail to provide adequate teaching on exercise in the physicians’ undergraduate courses.
Operation Walk has teamed up with the Center for Precision Joint Replacement and the Hofmann Arthritis Institute to perform four total hip and knee replacements—two hips and two knees—at no cost to the patients.
In the first human study of its kind, researchers found that using stem cells to re-grow craniofacial tissues, mainly bone, was faster and more effective than traditional bone regeneration treatments.
Skin issues or short remaining-limb length can cause amputees to reject the typical socket-type attachment systems. For the last six years, the Utah team has been developing a device that can be implanted directly into a person's residual bone, passing through the skin, so technicians can securely attach a prosthetic limb without the need for a socket.
The news is all over the Internet. Another patient, this one a child, has successfully received a trachea fashioned from his own stem cells. Doctors performed the initial transplant two years ago and the child is now breathing normally.
A couple tablespoons of fat from a "nip-tuck" procedure in a plastic surgeons' office provides enough stem cells to seed a collection of new small-diameter blood vessels. Engineers took cells from a patent’s fat tissue, cultured it into sheets and rolled it into tiny blood vessels.
It is something else to worry about. A review of the medical records of more than 95, 000 adults who had hip or knee replacement surgeries between 1998 and 2008 in Denmark found that they ran a risk of having a heart attack within six weeks of their joint surgery.
Histogenics Corporation, a regenerative medicine company, has completed a $49 million round of financing that will enable the company to complete the ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial for NeoCart.
Web Health Awards has given its 2012 Gold Award to Spine-Health.com, a Veritas Health LLC company, for providing the best digital health resources on the web.
IntelliCell BioSciences, Inc., of New York City, announced the filing of a patent application for a new research technique for regenerative medicine. The provisional patent expands the field of cellular therapy and research in adipose stromal vascular fraction (SVF).
It may be the “retiree-syndrome, ” the result of all the snow-birds moving to Arizona to escape the cold winters in their home states, that has the number of knee replacements performed in that desert state increasing by 154% over the past decade.
Breg, Inc., a provider of sports medicine and nonsurgical orthopedic products, has named Stuart M. Essig, 50, former chief executive of Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation, to the position of chairman of the board.
Lose weight and save your ankles. According to Lynda Williams, writing July 13 in News Medical, obese patients experience more severe ankle fractures than do individuals with a healthy body mass index.
Medistem, Inc. and the Chinese Conglomerate Shanghai Jia Fu Medical Apparatus, Inc. have successfully used Medistem's universal donor stem cell product in two patients with critical limb ischemia. The stem cell product is derived from the endometrium—the lining of the uterus.
Could there be a connection between a common type of athletic hip disorder and the risk of a sports hernia? According researchers in the orthopedics department at the University of Virginia, the answer is “yes.”
Do the advantages of minimally invasive total hip replacement (THR) or total knee replacement (TKR) surgeries outweigh the higher complication rates reported? That is the question that investigators asked in a study designed to determine whether minimally invasive surgery (MIS) enhances recovery after total hip or knee replacement.
Additional therapeutic uses for platelet rich plasma (PRP) have come from research conducted in Bologna, Italy. PRP can be a safe and effective treatment for cartilage tears in athletes according to a study.
The Freedom Total Knee System, produced by Maxx Medical, Pvt. Ltd., has received approval from the Chinese State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) for sale throughout China.
Surgically repairing a shoulder injury in baseball players may not be the best medical decision. Researchers suggest that nonsurgical treatment of what are called SLAP (superior labral) tears may be more beneficial.
Scientists with a cluster of German hospitals have organized a “virtual institute” to fabricate implants made of degradable magnesium and examine how they work in animal studies. Aluminum free, load bearing, biodegradable, magnesium alloys can be used for orthopedic implants for children.
In an attempt to gather more data on what happens to players’ heads when they are hit while playing football, the NFL is planning to put sensors in the helmets. The NFL wants to use the sensors, altered slightly, in football helmets to track the severity of blows to the head, so players may be taken out of games before severe brain trauma, namely concussions, occurs.
Just days before the 2012 Summer Olympics were set to begin in London, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) published a group of articles that suggest the science behind sports drinks is biased and inconclusive.
Some breathtaking human clinical trials have been reported injecting stem cells into the spinal cord. Until now, no United States-based clinical trials have attempted delivery of biological therapies directly to the spinal cord for treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Why orthopedic surgeons do what they do? A patient had suffered from rheumatoid arthritis for 18 years and had been bed ridden, in pain, for the last four years. When she went for consultation, the surgeon suggested she undergo total knee replacement surgery
Federal judge Rosemary Collyer has ruled that stem cell therapy for orthopedic patients constitutes a drug—a ruling that exposes manufacturers to liability for adulteration and misbranding. The FDA argued its position that the stem cell procedure should be classified as a drug, making it subject to Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act regulations.
The search for a method to grow cartilage—the shock-absorbing lining of hip and knee joints—goes on. Tissue engineers have used tiny artificial fiber scaffolds thousands of times smaller than a human hair to coax stem cells into developing into cartilage. Has it worked? To a degree, yes.
Fewer than 5% of Australian patients having hip or knee arthroplasty in the past received guideline-recommended therapy to prevent venous thrombosis, according to a study at the Royal Hobart Hospital.
The pedCAT, a weight-bearing, 3D CT imaging device for the foot and ankle region—small enough to fit in a doctor’s office—is projected to be available soon for sale in Canada, Europe and South America.
The Magnifi Group, Inc., a developer of e-learning technology for the medical device industry, has announced that its IEP’s (Spine Interactive Educational Program) annual Spine Fellows Live Course has reached its capacity for medical device sponsors.
An Israeli medical device company, CartiHeal Ltd, which was spun off from the Department of Biotechnology Engineering at Ben-Gurion University, has raised $10 million to spur the development of the company’s lead product, Agili-C.
“I’m just so thrilled that I decided to get my knees done. I waited too long.” With those words, sports legend Billie Jean King voiced sentiments that are shared by literally millions of knee replacement patients—the majority of whom are women.
“I’m just so thrilled that I decided to get my knees done. I waited too long.” With those words, sports legend Billie Jean King voiced sentiments that are shared by literally millions of knee replacement patients—the majority of whom are women.
It is tough being a guy. Despite popular assumptions that women’s knees are more prone to ligament injuries than are men’s, a major study in Sweden finds that men, at least in that country, have a greater number of anterior cruciate ligament tears than do Swedish women. Moreover, men undergo more surgeries to repair them.
In what may prove to be a significant advance in the search for a treatment for osteoarthritis, scientists in the UK have discovered that people with osteoarthritis have a signature epigenetic change that is responsible for switching on and off a gene that produces a destructive enzyme called MMP13.
What is the better treatment for osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (VCF)? An analysis of data in the medical literature finds that vertebroplasty provides more pain relief and better function for patients than do the nonoperative treatments presently in use.
Six patients in California are suing a stem-cell company for allegedly misleading them about the effectiveness of its stem-cell treatments. Patients, who are reported to be elderly and who live in California, are suing Human Biostar.
Scientists are using stem cell technology to study Huntington’s Disease. The disease, currently incurable, is a progressive inherited brain disorder that causes lack of muscle control, psychiatric disorders, dementia and ultimately death.
Scientists are using stem cell technology to study Huntington’s Disease. The disease, currently incurable, is a progressive inherited brain disorder that causes lack of muscle control, psychiatric disorders, dementia and ultimately death.
A kerfuffle has developed at Brantford General Hospital in Brantford, Ontario, over the hospital’s practice of charging $800 for patients who request a custom-fitting procedure for a new knee over the basic package. The Ontario Ministry of Health has issued a cease and desist order to the hospital.
A kerfuffle has developed at Brantford General Hospital in Brantford, Ontario, over the hospital’s practice of charging $800 for patients who request a custom-fitting procedure for a new knee over the basic package. The Ontario Ministry of Health has issued a cease and desist order to the hospital.
A Mumbai surgeon, Dr. Nilen Shah, successfully performed knee replacement surgery on a patient who was only 3’ 10” tall. Ramesh Shah, who suffers from achondroplastic dwarfism, a rare congenital genetic disorder that does not allow proper bone formation, had been suffering for three years from arthritis of the knee.
A Mumbai surgeon, Dr. Nilen Shah, successfully performed knee replacement surgery on a patient who was only 3’ 10” tall. Ramesh Shah, who suffers from achondroplastic dwarfism, a rare congenital genetic disorder that does not allow proper bone formation, had been suffering for three years from arthritis of the knee.
If the publication Official Wire, of London, England, is correct in its estimates, the global sports medicine implant market, valued at $1 billion in 2011, will grow to $1.6 billion by 2018. That is a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.7%.
Tests performed on retired National Football League players found that more than 40% suffered from depression and dementia. Researchers examined 34 former professional football players for such problems as depression and dementia. The average age of the players was 62.
Frederick Azar, M.D., second vice president of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) and team doctor for the Memphis Grizzlies, has been voted Physician of the Year by the National Basketball Athletic Trainers Association.
Orthopedists just want to fix things. Dr. Peter Cole decided to make a semi-annual trip to the jungle to fix some especially needy patients. He and his team could write a text book in pathology with what they see in a week. Dr. Cole’s labor of love and faith is simply wonderful and uplifting. We hope it inspires you too.
Linda Littlejohns, RN, MSN, CNRN, FAAN, president and executive director of the Integra Foundation and vice president of corporate clinical development, is the new President of the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses (AANN).
AlloSource, a non-profit provider of skin, bone and soft tissue allografts, has hired medical device veteran Dale Binke as the firm’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing.
The orthopedic tsunami known as the Elderly is coming. Today’s hospital is not ready. It will be under water. The GFP program in Minnesota has turned the traditional ER system on its head and found high ground. Why don’t other hospitals follow suit?
Something special is happening in China. Many of U.S.’s leading orthopedic and spine surgeons and hospital administrators are contributing to the renaissance of China’s spine and orthopedic care. Eventually, orthopedic and spine care in China will rival the U.S. in scope. Could it also rival in terms of quality and innovation? Read on.
Milena Ridl, an executive with extensive and varied domestic and foreign sales experience, has accepted the position of vice president of international sales and marketing for Simpirica Spine, Inc.
Dr. Danielle Mitchell is a sports medicine physician who healed herself. A friend introduced her to triathlon training and, in two years, Mitchell lost more than 100 pounds.
The Michelangelo Hand, the first hand prosthetic with an opposable thumb, will NOT be unveiled to surgeons and patients until May, 2012 in Leipzig, Germany. But Dale Feste, of Minnetonka, Minnesota, has been wearing the revolutionary new hand since December 16, 2011 and he gave OTW a preview. We’re amazed and you will be too.
Twenty years ago, notes award winning orthopedist Dr. Raj, fast foods had 30% fewer calories, kids played sports out of doors, they walked to school two or more miles—which was a given. Today’s generation of youth, however, are de-conditioning and falling prey to more musculoskeletal problems.
How does Rochester’s Prosthetic Laboratories deliver such consistently successful prosthetics for amputees? They work with prosthetically aware surgeons but more importantly they manage the “relay race”. For a fascinating peak into how a successful prosthetics lab works, read on.
Vincent Gardès, a veteran of Stryker Corporation and Medtronic, Inc., has joined Vexim, a medtech company in Toulouse, France, as Chief Executive Officer.
Francis Harrison has accepted the position of vice-president for Regulatory, Clinical Affairs and Quality at Alphatec Spine, Inc.
Kevin Guskiewicz, Ph.D., a University of North Carolina professor in the field of sports medicine, became one of 22 winners of a MacArthur Fellowship. He will receive a $500, 000 “no strings attached” grant over the next five years.
Leslie Cross, the nearly 30-year veteran of DJO’s (nee Smith & Nephew) bracing business has agreed to become Alphatec Spine, Inc.’s new Chairman of the Board replacing outgoing Chair, Mortimer Berkowitz, III, who is also President of Alphatec’s largest shareholder—HealthpointCapital.
Rochester orthopedic surgeon Judith F. Baumhauer, M.D., M.P.H. , was named president of the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society at the Society’s 27th annual meeting in Keystone, Colorado. Dr. Baumhauer is the first women to hold this position.
Creativity and orthopedic surgery are usually incompatible concepts—except in oncology. There we find a restless class of surgeons who scramble onto the surgical high wire and perform remarkable feats of anatomical reconstruction.
After 33 years of service as Chief Business Development Officer for Innovative Medical Device Solutions (iMDS) Harold Linville is retiring. He will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board of the company.
Patrick Ryan, former Abbott Vascular Devices divisional vice president for North Asia, will pick up the COO reins at Alphatec Holdings, according to an April 25 company announcement.
Angela Horacek, formerly Global Vice-President of Operations and Quality for nSpire Health, has accepted the position of Vice President of Operations for Allosource.
Faster R&D? Lower costs? World class scientists and engineers? Must be India or China, right? Wrong. Mexico. Alandra Medical. Located just outside Mexico City, Alandra is geared up to deliver all of the above. Here are the details.
No joke, physicians who learn to dovetail joints in wood shop make better orthopedic surgeons. The similarities between fine wood working and orthopedic surgery are more than skin deep. Surprisingly, even the tools may be better. Dr. Paul Anderson explains.
Reimbursement is coming down while expenses are going up. In such an environment can private practice—which has dominated orthopedics for decades—be sustainable? We check in with Summit Orthopedics in Woodbury, Minnesota, to find an answer.
Dr. Derek Cuff, an orthopedic surgeon at Suncoast Orthopaedic Surgery & Sports Medicine, has been awarded the Charles Neer Award, given annually by the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeon Society.
Medical device industry veteran Don Urbanowicz, who retired in December after 10 years with Stryker Orthopaedics, sees the shifting relationship of physicians with hospitals as one of the major changes that has taken place in the medical device industry over the past 30 years.
Super Bowl rings are not just for the guys. Dr. Robin West, Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, has one. Hers may be smaller than the men’s but the design is the same and the ring has the requisite number of diamonds.
Metal on metal (MoM) replacement hip systems, first introduced almost four decades ago, have come under new scrutiny because of reports of adverse local tissue reactions(ALTR). What is the future of MoM? Seth Greenwald brought four senior orthopaedic surgeons together to tackle that question. We also add the latest Registry data.
How does a 15 bed physician-owned hospital in fly-over country beat out every other hospital in the United States—all 3, 414 of them—to be ranked number one in patient satisfaction? You might be surprised.
Half the patients are women, but fewer than 10% are the doctors. What’s with the Women? Why don’t they go into orthopedics? Laura Gehrig, President of the Ruth Jackson Orthopedic Society, a women’s society within AAOS, is trying to find out.
