So I heard from some Zimmer folks at AAOS that Persona was selling well, only constrained by production capacity (a good problem to have), but still a small percentage of total knee sales. Apparently the self aligning tibia component for rotation, along with the precise fitting femur (24 total SKU's in femurs), and the 1 mm poly with the modular trialing system is yielding better results for patients. Good enough but a nightmare for inventory. The Zimmer people defended the 2 mm sizing strategy of Persona due to the results they're seeing. Finally, the Z is moving to kitting one knee femoral unit in with the polys as Arthrex has done on their total knee. A 3 pan case (1 up / 1 down). I hear they have plastic trials now for tibias as well, which were initially metal (a bit lighter than the metal ones, but not as sturdy).
Now I hear that Smith and Nephew is moving to 1 mm sizing for their poly to compete...
I still didn't see the new TM Modular asymmetric tibia tray yet. I was told it would feature offset TM pegs (anterior / posterior) on the bottom. I didn't see any revision system components, though one of their developing surgeons said it had been promised in a year.
Finally, has anyone else noticed how many new knee systems are on the market? It seems the European companies are all getting killed on reimbursement and so are seeking sales in the US. Corin (out of UK, but to be sold in US) has a new knee, Arthrex has a "new" knee (purchased but modified), Amplitude (France) was showing at AAOS, Renovis (Austin TX), Kyocera out of asia (not in US yet), United Technologies (Taiwan, but not in US yet), Medacta (Switzerland but selling in the US already) and others I can't remember. Are all of these companies showing to their customers that traveled to the US to go to AAOS or are they testing the waters to enter our market? About a third of the traffic is international so probably a bit of both.
Did anyone see the ACL / PCL sparing knee from Biomet called the Vanguard XP? A quick google search will provide the images of the tibia. Rumor had it that Smith and Nephew is about to launch one as well and was going to call it the XR, but now have to rename it (that from a S&N rep working the show). My question is, how easy is this thing to put in without releasing the ACL? Cementing in a tibia with poor visibility was tried back in MIS days, with some variability in results (and revisions for loose tibia components).
Now I hear that Smith and Nephew is moving to 1 mm sizing for their poly to compete...
I still didn't see the new TM Modular asymmetric tibia tray yet. I was told it would feature offset TM pegs (anterior / posterior) on the bottom. I didn't see any revision system components, though one of their developing surgeons said it had been promised in a year.
Finally, has anyone else noticed how many new knee systems are on the market? It seems the European companies are all getting killed on reimbursement and so are seeking sales in the US. Corin (out of UK, but to be sold in US) has a new knee, Arthrex has a "new" knee (purchased but modified), Amplitude (France) was showing at AAOS, Renovis (Austin TX), Kyocera out of asia (not in US yet), United Technologies (Taiwan, but not in US yet), Medacta (Switzerland but selling in the US already) and others I can't remember. Are all of these companies showing to their customers that traveled to the US to go to AAOS or are they testing the waters to enter our market? About a third of the traffic is international so probably a bit of both.
Did anyone see the ACL / PCL sparing knee from Biomet called the Vanguard XP? A quick google search will provide the images of the tibia. Rumor had it that Smith and Nephew is about to launch one as well and was going to call it the XR, but now have to rename it (that from a S&N rep working the show). My question is, how easy is this thing to put in without releasing the ACL? Cementing in a tibia with poor visibility was tried back in MIS days, with some variability in results (and revisions for loose tibia components).