Healthcare Industry News: PHOENIX
News Release - November 20, 2008
New Guide System Provides for Consistent, Accurate Portal Placement During Hip Surgery
ANDOVER, Mass., Nov. 20 (Healthcare Sales & Marketing Network) -- Smith & Nephew's (NYSE: SNN ; LSE: SN ) Endoscopy Division today announced the launch of the CROSSTRAC(TM) Hip Guide System, which enables surgeons to accurately establish pathways to diagnose and repair the hip joint using arthroscopy, or minimally invasive, repair procedures.The announcement came at the Arthroscopy Association of North America Fall Course, which opened today and runs through Saturday in PHOENIX, Ariz.
The hip joint is deep in the body and difficult to access. To arthroscopically diagnose and repair damage to the joint, the surgeon must create surgical pathways, or portals, through the dense tissue surrounding the hip, while avoiding critical structures such as nerves and arteries. Correct placement can be a challenge even for surgeons who have performed many hip arthroscopy procedures. Traditional techniques may require multiple attempts at entering the joint, increasing exposure to fluoroscopic radiation and adding to procedure time.
The CROSSTRAC Hip Guide ensures more reliable, predictable portal placement on the first attempt. Guided by an x-ray, the surgeon establishes the first portal and inserts an arthroscope. With that portal in place, the CROSSTRAC Hip Guide is attached to the arthroscope and enables the surgeon to establish secondary portals in the appropriate place. The arthroscope enables the surgeon to see where the additional portals would penetrate the hip capsule before the penetration occurs.
"Inserting the scope, establishing the portals and locating them in the correct position are critical to the success of a hip arthroscopy procedure," said Dr. J.W. Thomas Byrd, of the Nashville Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Center in Tennessee, and a pioneer in hip arthroscopy. "Incorrect portal placement may inadvertently damage the vascular and nerve structures surrounding the hip or result in further trauma to the joint. The CROSSTRAC enables surgeons to achieve proper placement without repeated attempts."
Lisa Donnelly, senior market manager for hip repair at Smith & Nephew Endoscopy said the CROSSTRAC Hip Access System "enables surgeons -- even those new to hip arthroscopy -- to accurately and quickly access the hip joint, and devote more procedure time to diagnosing and repairing hip damage."
(TM)Trademark of Smith & Nephew. Certain Marks Reg. U.S. Pat. & T.M. Off.
About Us
Smith & Nephew is a global medical technology business, specialising in Orthopaedic Reconstruction, Orthopaedic Trauma and Clinical Therapies, Endoscopy and Advanced Wound Management products. Smith & Nephew is a global leader in arthroscopy and advanced wound management and is one of the leading global orthopaedics companies.
Smith & Nephew is dedicated to helping improve people's lives. The Company prides itself on the strength of its relationships with its surgeons and professional healthcare customers, with whom its name is synonymous with high standards of performance, innovation and trust. The Company operates in 32 countries around the world. Annual sales in 2007 were nearly $3.4 billion.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In particular, statements regarding planned growth in our business and in our operating margins discussed under "Outlook" are forward-looking statements as are discussions of our product pipeline. These statements, as well as the phrases "aim", "plan", "intend", "anticipate", "well-placed", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target", "consider" and similar expressions, are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors (including, but not limited to, the outcome of litigation and regulatory approvals) that could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Smith & Nephew, or industry results, to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Please refer to the documents that Smith & Nephew has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including Smith & Nephew's most recent annual report on Form 20F, for a discussion of certain of these factors.
All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to Smith & Nephew as of the date hereof. All written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to Smith & Nephew or any person acting on behalf of Smith & Nephew are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing. Smith & Nephew does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in Smith & Nephew's expectation with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
Source: Smith & Nephew
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