Other Articles

How to Get the Surgeon’s Attention
Understanding relationship dynamics and having the chutzpah to put your best creative foot forward can garner you real success as a sales rep. Find out how to bring inventiveness to the sales process so as to attract and retain the surgeon’s attention.

Death Spiral
Since January, ReGen Biologic's stock has fallen from $0.95 per share to $0.04 per share. The number of shares outstanding is up 45% in 9 months. In one case, the company paid a $24,000 vendor bill with 68,572 shares of stock. Still, a couple of particularly savvy orthopedics investors have bought roughly 7% of the stock. Can ReGen survive?

Diving in to the Future
Since 1996 total knee procedures have risen 77% to 455,000 annually. A study presented at AAOS estimates that by 2030 that number grows to 3.48 million knee replacements a year! If infection rates continue to rise at current rates, however, that future will not be nearly as rosy for either patients or industry. Read on.

Selling Yourself: Career Advancement for Sales Reps
Are you considering becoming a distributor or do you plan to advance within a company? Either way, you need to be ready. You will want to know how to make product line choices, hire a sales force, and lead others, among other things.

Mission Unaccomplished: Are the Wheels Coming Off at the FDA?
The FDA is no longer able to fulfill its mission and its wheels are coming off. So says the FDA’s own Science Board in a scathing report. We looked under the hood of the report and here’s what we found.

“Back” to the Future Part II: Technology and the Vertebral Compression Fracture Market
In Part I, our inquiring analyst, Matt Menze, highlighted opportunities for spinal implant manufacturers in the vertebral compression fracture (VCF) market. Now he tackles the thorny issue of new and emerging VCF technologies. What’s on the horizon? Read on.

Second Careers for Orthopedic Surgeons
How should you plan for a change in focus later during your career? You may want to continue utilizing your research, managerial, or presentation skills. Find out what Drs. Ray Linovitz and Stephen Hochschuler have to say about how to stay involved in the field at any stage of one’s career.

Finally, Consolidation in the Allograft Industry
So, where’s Adam Smith’s enlightened self interest when you need it? For about the length of the average U.S. Presidency it’s been clear to anyone who could read an income statement that one important market sector was in need of consolidation. That sector is allograft. With RTI and Tutogen merging, it may finally be happening. Read on.

The Smell of Favoritism, Political Interference, and Back-Room Dealing Alleged in Ortho Deferred Prosecution Deal in Jersey
Amid charges of political favoritism, New Jersey Congressmen call for investigation of ortho deferred prosecution agreements. It’s Jersey and the fur’s flying, read about it here.

The Match Process: Let the Courtship Begin
In the first of three articles, two medical students describe their experiences of the residency match process. Learn their thoughts on interviewing, letters of recommendation, and of course, the pressure to match.

A New “Wave” of Extremity Treatment?
Addressing a market of more than a quarter of a million patients annually with a $5-8,000 treatment sounds like the next multi-billion market. FDA approved, but controversial. What is Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy and why should we care? Read on.

Avoiding the Perp Walk, or How to Keep the Justice Department From Knocking on Your Door
We’ve all seen the “Perp Walk” on TV. The defendant cuffed and trying to hide his or her face from the cameras. Will Justice Department and congressional investigations of industry and physician relationships result in a doc taking that walk? Read what a federal prosecutor says about avoiding that indignity.

Some patients’ successful treatment hinges on those who pay attention to extremities. Small Bone Innovations (SBi) is listening. SBi has launched a new prosthetic device called the rHead™. This lateral implant system has received 510 (k) FDA clearance along with SBi’s plating system for internal fixation of proximal radius fractures.

The rHead lateral implant, indicated for treatment of arthritic and traumatic conditions of the radial head, is a side-loading prosthesis that makes a minimally invasive approach possible and allows for exposure in radial head replacement surgery. The head and stem of the implant connect by means of a dove-tail locking mechanism that does not require a set screw, a time-saving feature for surgeons in the OR.

Anthony G. Viscogliosi, chairman and CEO of SBi, said: "The addition of the rHead Lateral implant and the complementary new plating system responds to surgeon demand for a full range of treatment options for every disease stage or severity of trauma in the elbow."

The stem of the rHead Lateral implant is plasma coated with titanium for immediate stability in the canal and optimum osteo-integrating properties. The stem has a 12-degree curve to match the anatomy of the radius, a feature SBi has used in previous designs. This stem is available with a 2-mm standard collar or a 6-mm extended collar.

"The modularity of treatment options now available from SBi is making the often complicated alignment challenges in elbow repair or reconstruction more manageable and predictable in outcome," added Amit Gupta, M.D, who completed the first procedure using the rHead at the Louisville Arm and Hand Center. “A unique feature of the system is the coupling mechanism between the radial head and stem that enables the implant to be implanted sideways to reduce ligament disruption."

Surgeons have participated in the development of the Elbow Management System, with the first rHead™ device appearing in 1999 by Avanta (later acquired by SBi). In 2001 a bipolar version, the rHead Recon, was introduced. In 2006 the company launched the UNI-Elbow Radio Capitellum System™ as the first commercially available uni-compartmental elbow arthroplasty system. The new rHead has received approval for use with the UNI-Elbow System for patients requiring a uni-compartmental solution.

Accompanying the Elbow Management System is SBi’s Precise Guidance Technology instrument system. This system makes it possible to size the implant so that placement can be achieved with a minimally invasive approach.

The rHead lateral implant includes an assembly tool for quick engagement or disengagement of the head and stem. The accompanying impactor tool uses the surrounding anatomy to assure precise positioning of the implant.

Commenting via e-mail, SBi spokesperson Nick Kilsby noted, "The lateral implant makes it easier for the surgeon to access the radial joint when a lateral approach is desirable and, therefore, makes the procedure less invasive and minimizes ligament disruption and damage. For patients this should result in less discomfort and a quicker return of elbow functionality."