LONDON, Oct. 8, 2015
/PRNewswire/ -- Smith & Nephew (NYSE: SNN; LSE: SN), the
global medical technology business, today announced the successful
outcome of the first total knee replacement in Colombia using the innovative VISIONAIRE
Cutting Guides. The surgery, which was performed by Dr. César Rocha
at Fundación Cardio Infantil de Bogotá, demonstrates the expanding
global popularity of the pioneering, patient-specific VISIONAIRE
instrumentation, as well as the company's increasing presence in
the Latin American joint replacement market.
VISIONAIRE Cutting Guides are single-use, surgical instruments
designed using MRI and X-Ray data to accurately match the unique
anatomy of each patient's knee joint. The precise fit of the
cutting guides allows a surgeon to accommodate the specific shapes
and angles of the joint while aligning the implant to offer the
desired outcome. Also, because the cutting guides arrive to the
surgeon ready to use, VISIONAIRE surgeons are able to eliminate
multiple steps from the surgery that would otherwise be necessary
to prepare the patient to receive the standard, more invasive
instrumentation.i
"This technology is remarkable," says Dr. Rocha. "I now
arrive in the operating room with a unique surgical plan for each
patient's knee anatomy and specialized surgical instruments to
match. Plus, the simplified procedure means that my patients may
face shorter surgeries that result in accurately placed implants,
while my staff and I have fewer instrument trays to manage and
surgical steps to perform."
A 2011 study published in the Journal of Arthroplasty (JOA)
reported that patient-matched technologies, such as VISIONAIRE
Cutting Guides, can reduce a hospital's sterilization costs while
increasing OR efficiency by eliminating nearly half of the
instrument trays needed and more than twenty surgical steps from
each surgery.ii
"As a company, Smith & Nephew has been very clear regarding
our strategy to build dynamic and sustainable business in emerging
markets around the world," said Maria Jesus
Barrenechea, SVP and General Manager for Smith &
Nephew's Latin American region. "Today, we are seeing that strategy
come to life as the innovative VISIONAIRE system is introduced into
one of the largest economies in Latin
America."
About Smith & Nephew
Smith & Nephew is a global medical technology business
dedicated to helping healthcare professionals improve people's
lives. With leadership positions in Orthopaedic Reconstruction,
Advanced Wound Management, Sports Medicine and Trauma &
Extremities, Smith & Nephew has around 14,000 employees and a
presence in more than 100 countries. Annual sales in 2014 were more
than $4.6 billion. Smith & Nephew
is a member of the FTSE100 (LSE: SN, NYSE: SNN).
For more information about Smith & Nephew, please visit our
corporate website www.smith-nephew.com, follow @SmithNephewplc on
Twitter or visit SmithNephewplc on Facebook.com
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™Trademark of Smith & Nephew. Certain marks
registered US Patent and Trademark Office.
i 40420112 Smith & Nephew GENESIS™ II DCF
Surgical Technique
ii J. Nobel, MD, C. Moore, MS, N. Liu, MS; The Value of Patient-Matched
Instrumentation in Total Knee Arthroplasty; Journal Arthroplasty,
2011, Volume 27, Issue 1, 153-155.
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SOURCE Smith & Nephew