A hip replacement made by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)’s DePuy unit fails in the U.K. as often as 49 percent of the time, or four times what the company cited in recalling the device last year, a British orthopedists’ group said. The British Orthopaedic Association and the British Hip Society said in a statement this week [...]

A group of St. Louis, Missouri’s Washington University (WUSTL) scientists have received a grant of more than $2 million to solve one of the more difficult problems in orthopedic surgery — reattaching tendons to bones.  Their hope is to improve the success rate of rotator cuff repairs by improving how tendons and muscles that surround [...]

After 20 years of use, total knee replacements are still trucking. John B. Meding, M.D. of the St. Francis Medical Group, Beech Grove, Indiana, evaluated 1,757 total knee replacements (TKR) that had been implanted between 1975 and 1989. He found that 128 of the patients, whose average age was 82, were still living. Despite the [...]

S&N’s new cry? Smaller, stronger, better…Smith & Nephew Orthopaedic Division has just introduced its Short Modular Femoral (SMF) Hip System, a modular total hip replacement stem system that, says the company, exceeds the versatility and neck strength of a standard, full-size primary hip stem, while providing the stability of the traditionally longer, more invasive implant. [...]

You might not have liked geometry, but due to the efforts of the ConforMIS team, damaged knees all over will benefit from it. The company is reporting receipt of FDA 510(k) clearance for its iTotal CR Knee Replacement System (let the marketing begin!). As indicated by ConforMIS, its iTotal CR is the only true patient-specific [...]

Zimmer Holdings, Inc. is bringing its NexGen LPS-Flex knee with Prolong Highly Crosslinked Polyethylene (XLPE) to the U.S. The company, in a January 13 press release, says combining prolong polyethylene with its LPS-Flex knee provides a “revolutionary anteriorly positioned pivot near the entry point of the anterior cruciate ligament, replicating the anatomic center of knee [...]

Biomet’s sales growth flatlined during the company’s second quarter of 2011. Net sales were $698.3 million for the quarter. Reported knee sales were up 1%, while hips and spine declined by 1% and 3%, respectively. The company’s bright spot was a 21% increase in sales of extremities. 2Q11 Biomet Sales ($ in millions) % Change [...]

Stryker Corp. is suing Zimmer Holdings, Inc. to block sales of Zimmer’s Pulsavac Plus system. The device removes damaged tissue and cleans bones during joint surgery. In the patent-infringement suit, Stryker claims that Zimmer’s system infringes three U.S patents. Stryker is seeking cash compensation and an order to prevent further use of the inventions, according [...]

It’s got all of the bells and whistles of the research world…BioMimetic Therapeutics, Inc. has announced the initiation of enrollment in its multi-center, randomized, controlled, blinded study to assess the safety and clinical utility of Augment Rotator Cuff Graft for the repair of large rotator cuff tears. This pilot clinical trial will assess the Augment [...]

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Small Bone Innovations, Inc. (SBi), a leading, privately held orthopedics company focused primarily on arthroplasty and trauma reconstruction technology and treatments for the small bones & joints, has sold its shoulder-related assets. The transaction is not expected to have a material impact on SBi’s revenues. Anthony G. Viscogliosi, Chairman & CEO of SBi, [...]