Football and cheerleading are the two least attractive sports for young people. According to the Aspen Institute’s Sports & Society Program football ranked dead last for male high school athletes. And competitive cheerleading ranked last for female high school athletes. However, football came in second for its psychosocial benefits. The best sport for boys? Cross-country […]
Who experiences the most pain following a total knee replacement (TKR)? According to a study by researchers from Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York, it is middle-aged women with rheumatoid arthritis who experience the most pain. Almost all patients are concerned about the pain they may have following knee replacement surgery. While all […]
How old is too old to have a painful hip replaced (THR)? Kathleen Doheny, writing for Health Day Reporter, reports on a study that found that patients in their 90s can have results comparable to those of younger patients. Alexander Miric, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon at Kaiser Permanente, in Los Angles, compared the results of […]
It is not news that the number of total knee replacement surgeries are continuing to rise but it is discouraging (and perhaps understandable) that the number of revision total knee replacement (TKR) surgeries are going up as well. Using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), researchers looked at the cause of knee replacement failure for 301, […]
An orthopedic device designed to assist in the placement of knee implants is being tested in 30 hospitals and orthopedic teaching centers in 16 states, according to Jay Pierce, CEO of OrthoSensor, Inc. a company based in Sunrise, Florida.
Robert W. Carson, M.D, a pioneer in the field of arthroscopic surgery and a founding member of the Arthroscopy Association of North America, died November 22 at his home in Woodside, California.
ulrich medical USA is releasing to the U.S. market its Occipito-Cervico-Thoracic (OCT) System, a low profile, German-engineered spinal implant system designed for the surgical stabilization and fixation of the posterior regions of the spine.
It was only a matter of time before ink jet printers would be adapted to create viable tissue. With a goal of creating a framework for cartilage, scientists paired a traditional ink jet printer with an electrospinning machine that can generate fine fibers from a polymer solution.
Computer-navigated total knee replacement (TKR) provides no advantage over the traditional surgical procedure, according to a study in the November issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.
In an effort to pool global resources and improve the skills of surgeons in developing nations, Chinese physicians in Beijing have established a world alliance on orthopedics.
In an effort to pool global resources and improve the skills of surgeons in developing nations, Chinese physicians in Beijing have established a world alliance on orthopedics.
An injection of cells derived from human umbilical cord tissue is more successful at repairing damage from a heart attack than are cells derived from bone marrow, according to research at the University of Toronto, Canada.
Regenerative medicine is one of the most promising fields of medical research, offering the prospect of disease reversal. According to a special report, Europe currently leads the world in the therapeutic applications of a series of technologies that fall under the heading of regenerative medicines.
Competition for joint replacements surgery is heating up. Some U.S. corporations are flying employees in need of hip or knee replacements around the country seeking out the better deals.
One of the most demanding challenges faced by orthopedic surgeons is dealing with big segmental defects. Healing in these cases can be complicated by soft-tissue loss, reduced vascularity, regional scarring and infection.
Remedy Informatics, Inc. is releasing a total joint replacement outcomes registry. Called RemedyJoint, the software allows researchers and clinicians to efficiently track and gather patient demographic, medical history, procedure, complication and patient reported outcome data across multiple surgeons, surgeon groups and hospitals
China is a major emerging market for orthopedic instrumentation with 40 million arthritis patients nationwide. The number of joints being replaced in China each year is expected to increase at an average annual rate of 25%
Beware of any-size blows to the head! A study of elite male soccer players found differences in the integrity of their brain white matter similar to that seen in patients with mild traumatic brain injury.
Raymond Linovitz, M.D. has accepted appointment to the Advisory Board of Aurora Spine, a firm specializing in minimally-invasive (MIS), regenerative technologies.
The anticoagulant Rivaroxaban (Xarelto) has received FDA approval to treat DVT and PE and to reduce the risk of a recurrence after initial treatment.
The risk of a stroke, for people who have had a total hip replacement, is higher in the first two weeks after their surgery than at any other time.
It should not come as a surprise, but research published in the Journal of Foot and Ankle Surgery has found that being obese nearly doubles the odds of a patient having an ankle fracture of the most severe category.
A drug that is approved in 100 countries but not the USA was the subject of a three-year study of patients with mild to moderate knee osteoarthritis (OA). Patients who took strontium ranelate found that it reduced the structural progression of the disease.
The rate at which surgeons perform hip and knee replacements as well as spine surgery varies widely among academic medical centers, according to a study by the Dartmouth Atlas Project.
The rate at which surgeons perform hip and knee replacements as well as spine surgery varies widely among academic medical centers, according to a study by the Dartmouth Atlas Project.
There must have been a lot of slow time at the office for plastic surgeon Fahd Benslimane, M.D., to have spent 12 years researching what makes women’s legs attractive. The main ingredient, he decided, turns out to be straight bones.
Aspirin is just as effective as Warfarin in preventing clots that can develop in the arteries of the lungs following joint replacement surgery. The research was recognized as one of the best presentations at the recent American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons meeting in Dallas.
The saga of rhBMP-2 goes on. A study by R. Shay Bess, M.D., found that a dose of rhBMP-2 was not associated with wound, superficial or deep infections in a study of adults treated for spinal deformity.
Brad Mason, the former group president of Orthofix International NV and principal founder of BREG, Inc., has accepted the position of Chairman to the Advisory Board of Aurora Spine, LLC.
It is tough enough to be fat, but downright unfair that obese children also suffer from joint pain. That fat children do hurt is the conclusion of a study by researchers from Nationwide Children's Hospital and The Ohio State University.
Two Sikh orthopedists lead a volunteer medical service organization that will perform free knee and hip replacements next year for about 50 impoverished patients in El Salvador.
Marcus Klarl, following 22 years in the medical device industry in Europe, has joined Titan Spine, LLC as the Vice President of Sales for Europe.
James A. Natalie, M.D., has joined the Andrews Institute and Baptist Medical Group at Gulf Breeze, Florida.
Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is initiating a Phase 2 clinical trial of its drug ISIS-FXIRx used to inhibit clotting in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA). According to the drugs proponents, it inhibits the production of Factor XI, a coagulation factor produced in the liver that is involved in the formation of clots.
Step by step researchers are closing in on a major goal in orthopedics—engineering replacement cartilage for joints from stem cells. Building on the work honored with this years’ Nobel Prize in medicine which demonstrated that adult stem cells could be made to take on the properties of embryonic stem cells, researchers have successfully created articular cartilage tissue.
The Board of Directors of Valtronic Technologies has brought about a change in the company’s management. It appointed Martin Zimmermann, Ph.D., to serve as CEO of the Valtronic Group as well as President of Valtronic Technologies (Suisse) SA.
Blue Belt Technologies, Inc. announced the first NavioPFS knee replacement procedure that was successfully performed in the United Kingdom. According to Blue Belt officials, the NavioPFS surgical system represents a new generation of smart instrumentation with robotic control.
Using regional anesthesia rather than general anesthesia reduces the need for blood transfusions in patients undergoing bilateral total knee arthroplasty (TKR).
The number of amputations of lower extremities among patients with peripheral artery disease has been going down, though there remain regional and racial differences. The rate of amputation declined from 7, 258 per 100, 000 patients in 2000 to 5, 790 per 100, 000 in 2008.
Providence Medical Technology Inc. (PMT), a private corporation focused on developing minimally invasive technologies, has received the FDA’s 510(k) clearance to market PMT Bone Screws in the U.S.
SpineNet, LLC, a manufacturer of spinal fusion implants, has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA for its SpineNet ACC anterior cervical cage. They reported that the FDA clearance was based, in part, on Solvay’s well-developed access file for Zeniva PEEK.
SpineNet, LLC, a manufacturer of spinal fusion implants, has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA for its SpineNet ACC anterior cervical cage. They reported that the FDA clearance was based, in part, on Solvay’s well-developed access file for Zeniva PEEK.
It is physical exercise, not doing crossword puzzles, that keeps aging brains sharp according to research by Alan J. Gow and colleagues from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the shrinking of the brain, which takes place in late adulthood, that researchers believe is involved in the loss of memory experienced by the aging.
The headline read “Knee Replacement not an easy solution for obese patients.” Alas, obese patients have double the rate of infection following knee replacement surgery (compared to non-obese patients) and the rate of infections is higher for both superficial and deep infections.
How safe are epidural steroids shots when they are injected into the space around the spinal cord? A study raised new concerns about the injections that are used to treat millions of back pain sufferers.
Advanced Biologics, LLC has succeeded in the validation of its OsteoAMP process which showed no clinically relevant donor-to-donor variation.
The second generation of OsteoMed Spine’s PrimaLok SP Interspinous Fusion System was on display at the North American Spine Society (NASS) annual meeting in Dallas, Texas last month.
A minimally invasive lumbar surgery system, called the TowerLOX, developed by Captiva Spine, Inc., has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA. Developers describe the device as a “cannulated pedicle screw, tower and rod delivery system.”
Women who took calcium and vitamin D cut their risk of vertebral fractures by 13%, according to results from the Women’s Health Initiative Calcium plus Vitamin D Supplementation Trial.
With the introduction of new products into Europe, European sales now account for over 40% of Osseon Therapeutics, Inc. sales. They claim that Osseon’s newest product, the Osseoflex SB is the first technological advance in vertebral augmentation devices in years.
Increasing numbers of doctors and hospitals are treating patients with stem cells and providing anecdotal evidence of their results. In Bangalore a multi-specialty hospital claims to have successfully used stem cells to cure a hip joint disorder.
How do health care costs in the U.S. compare to those in other developed nations? Americans believe that they have “the best health care in the world” and spend $8, 233 per person per year to back up that boast.
Exercise is coming into its own! A study by Kaiser Permanente’s Department of Research and Evaluation has found that adding a vital sign for exercise as an assessment tool in clinical settings improves patient care.
Exercise is coming into its own! A study by Kaiser Permanente’s Department of Research and Evaluation has found that adding a vital sign for exercise as an assessment tool in clinical settings improves patient care.
Biomet Spine introduced Cellentra VCBM (Viable Cell Bone Matrix), the third cell spine market entrant. The introduction of Cellentra was Biomet’s twelfth new product introduction in the past 12 months.
A testing lab which incubates orthopedic start-ups, surgical fellows and new technologies? That’s what Billie Young found when she visited an old building in Minneapolis where two guys named Gustilo and Kyle hang out with a Ph.D. named Bechtold. It’s quite a story.
StemCells, Inc. has received a U.S. patent covering purified populations of human liver cells, including the company’s human liver engrafting cells (hLEC), first isolated in the late 1990’s. According to company officials, the cells demonstrate robust bioactivity and are expandable.
Building on the work of Shinya Yamanaka, winner of the 2012 Nobel Prize for Medicine, Korean scientists report on a breakthrough technology that, they say, can more efficiently and safely reprogram adult cells to an embryo-like state where they can grow into various organs.
A team of three Iowa orthopedic surgeons, along with therapists, anesthesiologists and nurses performed 50 joint replacement surgeries in three days at a hospital in the East African country of Tanzania.
Good news for postmenopausal women came from a report given by Michael R. McClung, M.D. McClung and colleagues have found an antibody that targets the Wnt signaling pathway and its osteocyte-regulating molecule sclerostin, which increases bone formation while decreasing bone resorption.
Sitting can be the “kiss of death” says Ron DeAngelo of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. DeAngelo insists that humans were not designed to sit. “In prehistoric days we never sat, ” he said.
Sitting can be the “kiss of death” says Ron DeAngelo of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. DeAngelo insists that humans were not designed to sit. “In prehistoric days we never sat, ” he said.
If their knee pain is not helped by physical therapy or drugs, more and more seniors are deciding to have artificial joints implanted. A study by the American Medical Association revealed that more than 3.6 million Medicare beneficiaries over the age of 65 received artificial knees between 1991 and 2010.
Japanese scientists, while basking in the glow of Shinya Yamanaka’s winning of the Nobel Prize, are rushing to put his work to the test in human trials. Scientists at the Riken Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe plan to use induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) in a human trial with patients with macular degeneration—a disease in which the retina becomes damaged and patients lose their vision.
Japanese scientists, while basking in the glow of Shinya Yamanaka’s winning of the Nobel Prize, are rushing to put his work to the test in human trials. Scientists at the Riken Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe plan to use induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) in a human trial with patients with macular degeneration—a disease in which the retina becomes damaged and patients lose their vision.
Presumed inconsequential actions can make a big difference where pain is concerned. The timing of the application of a thigh tourniquet on a patient undergoing forefoot surgery can determine how painful the procedure will be.
Shinya Yamanaka, the scientist who won this year’s Nobel Prize for developing induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS), is also an athlete. Yamanaka ran in this year's Tokyo Marathon in March to raise money for basic iPS research.
A former Medtronic, Inc. executive and an Emory University orthopedic surgeon have partnered to form SkelRegen, LLC, a company focused on regenerating human bone and other skeletal tissue.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved an expanded use for Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation’s Vu aPOD, an intervertebral body fusion device for use in anterior lumbar fusion procedures. The new indication includes four points of fixation composed of two screws and a SpinPlate.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved an expanded use for Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation’s Vu aPOD, an intervertebral body fusion device for use in anterior lumbar fusion procedures. The new indication includes four points of fixation composed of two screws and a SpinPlate.
Although the basic technology for ankle replacements was developed about 30 years ago, widespread acceptance did not take off—as it did for hips and knees—in part because the ankle technology was not yet satisfactory. In the 1970s, “everybody gave up on them, ” said James Bodsky, M.D.
Although the basic technology for ankle replacements was developed about 30 years ago, widespread acceptance did not take off—as it did for hips and knees—in part because the ankle technology was not yet satisfactory. In the 1970s, “everybody gave up on them, ” said James Bodsky, M.D.
Michael Terry. M.D., an orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist, recommends an alternative treatment for a SLAP tear, a shoulder injury that often requires surgery and up to four months of rehabilitation.
Generic implants can deliver significant cost savings without any sacrifice of quality or patient outcomes according to research. Two independent studies examined the costs, implementation and clinical outcomes of the use of the Orthopaedic Implant Company’s (OIC) generic screws.
More than 100 orthopedic surgeons and nearly 7, 000 patients are participating in a study conducted by the University of Massachusetts Medical School to better understand the outcome of total joint replacement surgeries—from the perspective of the patient.
With studies showing that patients requiring orthopedic surgery may be three times more likely to experience post-operative infections than patients undergoing other forms of surgery, the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has accepted a $2.5 million grant for a study.
Thomas McLeer, formerly general manager of Spinal Operations for Pioneer Surgical, has accepted the post of Senior Vice President of U.S. Commercial Operations for Alphatec Spine.
Alphatec Holdings, Inc. parent firm of Alphatec Spine, Inc. is spending $15.2 million in cash and stock to acquire Phygen, LLC, a spine implant manufacturer based in Irvine, California.
Amedica Corporation, a spinal and reconstructive implant manufacturer, has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA to market the firm’s second generation family of cervical and lumbar interbody fusion devices (IBF).
Cracking your knuckles does not lead to arthritis nor does typing cause carpal tunnel syndrome. In fact, says Jessica Frankenhoff, M.D., “Typing actually helps prevent carpal tunnel.”
Ascendx Spine is now in the market with their innovative line of vertebral compression fracture repair products. Their system is brand named Ascendx VCF Repair System and Acu-Cut Vertebral Augmentation System. While it is not yet available in the United States the company has begun commercialization in Europe.
Is the space between the executive suite at these multi-billion, diversified orthopedic companies in Indiana, Tennessee or Michigan and the rank and file orthopedic surgeon now a chasm of Grand Canyon proportions?
Hip replacements from the anterior position are safer alternatives to the traditional posterior hip replacement, according to Arizona Orthopaedic Associates, a leading group of Arizona surgeons located in Phoenix.
Corentec America, Inc. has received FDA clearance to market its Lospa Knee System in the United States. The Knee Joint Replacement System is available now, along with the company’s currently available Total Hip Replacement System, and a Pedicle Screw System for spine.
It sounds too good to be true but British writer, Graham Smith, reports that a gel containing stem cells, when applied to the site of a spinal cord injury in rats, produced an “astonishing degree” of nerve growth.
Move over titanium (TI) and poly-ether-ether-ketone (PEEK)—there is a new challenger on the block. Amedica Corporation announced enhanced biomaterial claims based on newly published data for the company’s proprietary competing silicon nitride biomaterial.
New knees are becoming old hat. For every 10, 000 Medicare enrollees, 62.1 have received a total knee arthroplasty (TKA) procedure. The number of procedures jumped 162%—to 243, 802—from 1991 to 2010 and the per capita rate rose 99%.
For years platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has been used to treat tendons for injury and degeneration—with more anecdotal evidence than high level scientific study based evidence. The same has been true of the use of stem cells.
Scott Hoffinger, M.D. an orthopedic surgeon may have wanted more color and fun in his professional life! He signed on with CastCoverZ!—a manufacturer of designer-designed colored crutches and fashionable cast, brace, splint and walking boot covers.
At age 93, Shivalingappa G S, a native of Bhadravathi, India, did not suffer from diabetes or hypertension—his knees hurt. For 25 years he took pain medication. But when the pain in his knees became unbearable, his doctor put him to bed—for two years.
The Geisinger Health System has purchased Mazor Robotics Ltd’ surgical guidance system for spine procedures. Mazor’s technology is the only robotic system specifically for spine surgery currently available in the marketplace.
Alphatec Holdings, Inc., the parent company of Alphatec Spine, Inc., announced the first clinical use of Alphatec NEXoss, a next generation synthetic bone graft indicated for use in posterolateral spine fusions in conjunction with bone marrow aspirate, autograft bone and appropriate hardware.
The patient’s thigh size is a major factor in determining if a hip implant is likely to succeed or fail, according to researchers at the University of Iowa. In their study, the research team simulated hip dislocations as they occur in humans and determined that increased thigh girth creates hip instability in morbidly obese patients.
The development of surgical site infections (SSIs) following hip or knee replacement surgery is bad news for all involved. Keith Kaye, M.D. has determined that readmission to the hospital for treatment of the complications related to implant wound infections costs $65 million a year.
The development of surgical site infections (SSIs) following hip or knee replacement surgery is bad news for all involved. Keith Kaye, M.D. has determined that readmission to the hospital for treatment of the complications related to implant wound infections costs $65 million a year.
Could investigating car crashes be good training for negotiating with the FDA? One of orthopedics’ leading biomechanics expert and consultant says that handling ambulance chasing attorneys was great preparation for the FDA. Makes sense to us.
