




Healthcare Industry News: Zimmer
News Release - October 30, 2006
Zimmer Spine's New Lumbar Plate System Allows for Greater Intraoperative Flexibility
WARSAW, Ind., Oct. 30 (HSMN NewsFeed) -- Zimmer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ZMH ; SWX: ZMH ) announced today that the first cases using the Trinica® Anterior Lumbar Plate (ALP) System have been completed in St. Louis, Missouri. The Trinica ALP System is the first anterior lumbar plate system to accommodate vertebral body variation through multiple plate configurations with both fixed- and variable-angle screws for an enhanced bone-plate interface.Zimmer Spine expects to complete its full release of the Trinica ALP System in the U.S., Europe and Australia by the end of 2006. It was introduced at the recent North American Spine Society (NASS) conference in Seattle, Washington, and was highlighted at the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) conference in Chicago, Illinois.
"Zimmer is focused on continuing to bring innovative, differentiated spinal solutions to this growing market," said Ray Elliott, Zimmer Holdings Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Because this system provides for the use of both fixed-angle and variable-angle screws, surgeons have the opportunity to adjust the construct intraoperatively in order to best match the patient's anatomy. That flexibility is not available in competing systems."
Daniel Scodary, M.D., F. A. C. S., a neurosurgeon at DePaul Health Center in Bridgeton, Missouri, recently completed the first Trinica ALP cases. Dr. Scodary said that the benefits of the Trinica plate were immediately obvious. "Having the lordotic choice, the ability to place anterior or anterior-lateral and the ease of locking were all points that made the cases successful," Dr. Scodary said. "We were able to fit the plate tightly to the contour of the patients' spines, which increased the strength of the construct and improved the overall low profile of the implant."
The Trinica ALP System gives surgeons the ability to combine fixed- and variable-angle screws and uses an All-Through-One Guide to accommodate drilling, tapping and screw insertion, providing consistent reproducible screw placement while protecting soft tissue. Both the lumbar and sacral plates are available in a selection of deficit-filling configurations.
Zimmer Spine is a global leader in technological advancement for fusion, non-fusion and restoration devices for spine surgery. Every product designed, every innovation, and every technique developed demonstrates Zimmer's commitment to expanding its portfolio and to easing pain and improving lives.
About the Company
Founded in 1927 and headquartered in Warsaw, Indiana, Zimmer is the worldwide #1 pure-play orthopaedic leader in designing, developing, manufacturing and marketing reconstructive and spinal implants, trauma and related orthopaedic surgical products. Zimmer has operations in more than 24 countries around the world and sells products in more than 100 countries. Zimmer's 2005 sales were approximately $3.3 billion. The Company is supported by the efforts of more than 6,700 employees worldwide.
Visit Zimmer at http://www.Zimmer.com
Zimmer Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about the orthopaedics industry, management's beliefs and assumptions made by management. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as "may," "will," "expects," "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "estimates," "projects," "assumes," "guides," "targets," "forecasts," and "seeks" or the negative of such terms or other variations on such terms or comparable terminology. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, our ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses, the outcome of the Department of Justice investigations announced in March 2005 and June 2006, price and product competition, rapid technological development, demographic changes, dependence on new product development, the mix of our products and services, supply and prices of raw materials and products, customer demand for our products and services, control of costs and expenses, our ability to form and implement alliances, international growth, governmental laws and regulations affecting our U.S. and international businesses, including tax obligations and risks, product liability and intellectual property litigation losses, reimbursement levels from third-party payors, general industry and market conditions and growth rates and general domestic and international economic conditions including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations. For a further list and description of such risks and uncertainties, see our periodic reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. We disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be set forth in our periodic reports. Readers of this document are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward- looking statements, since, while we believe the assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, there can be no assurance that these forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. This cautionary statement is applicable to all forward-looking statements contained in this document.
The Trinica® Anterior Lumbar Plate System incorporates technology developed by Gary K. Michelson, M.D.
Source: Zimmer Holdings
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