Left untreated the meniscus tear, can lead to articular cartilage damage, the onset of osteoarthritis and eventually a total knee replacement. After implantation of Actifit® the damaged meniscal tissue heals.
A meniscus tear is normally repaired by the removal of the torn or damaged tissue via a partial meniscectomy. This can be effective in the short term but often it only gives temporary pain relief. In many cases the pain returns in time due to the loss of meniscal tissue and the cushioning function provided by a healthy meniscus. Over a longer period there is overwhelming evidence that degenerative changes occur, which, if left untreated, can lead to articular cartilage damage, the onset of osteoarthritis and eventually a total knee replacement.
In such cases helps the product Actifit®. Actifit® is implanted via arthroscopic surgery into the meniscal defect and as the damaged meniscal tissue heals Actifit® gradually dissolves and is removed naturally from the body.
Actifit® is a honeycomb scaffold that enables blood to flow through it and provide an anchor for new cellular in-growth as the body’s natural healing process takes place. Once the damaged section of the meniscus has been cut away and the meniscus resected to an area with good blood supply, the Actifit® implant is cut to size and stitched into place. Over time, the new cellular in-growth matures into new meniscus like tissue. This will help restore the cushioning function of the meniscus and delay the onset of osteoarthritis.
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An amazing opportunity for adults in active age ( 35-65).They can avoid total joint transplantations and if eligible they could go for “resurfacing” with HemiCAP® or UniCAP® “ïnlay” inplants and thus continuing their active life style-including doing sport.
Ten years ago, Arthrosurface® USA, for the first time, proposed focal implants under the tradename HemiCAP® and UniCAP®. They are based on the so-called “resurfacing” and “inlay” technology.
Implants produced by this technology allow only the damaged part of the joint to recover, without changing the natural anatomy of the joints and joints tissues and thus limiting the movement. With HemiCAP® and UniCAP® implant systems, significantly fewer bones and tissues are removed (compared to total joint prost After that, the operative patient returns to the active (sports) lifestyle.
The technology for these systems is based on innovative three-dimensional mapping so that the implant fully covers the size and shape of the defect in accordance with the patient's natural anatomy. The technology has been shifted from lens manufacturing (three dimensional copying to the surface) and also resembles a reconstruction of tooth defect - anatomical copying of healthy tissues and organs.
The HemiCAP® and UniCAP® Implantable Implant Systems are minimally invasive and organs-preserving and are suitable for patients aged between 38 and 60 years. They can be defined as intermediate treatment of joint defects – between conservative therapy (for example, physical treatment, pain management) and biological treatment (e.g. microfracture or others) on the one hand, and conventional total joint replacement on the other hand.
• Patients with severe and debilitating pain
• Patients resistant to conservative treatment
• Patients unsuitable for total joint prosthesis - middle age with an active lifestyle
Implant systems consist of three elements:
• An articular resurfacing component of cobalt-chromium alloy with titanium, which is measured and personalized for the patient
• Cancellous screw fixation
• A set of instruments that allows the surgeon to accurately and three-dimensionally measure the defect and use the appropriate implant.
The implant is made of cobalt-chromium alloy with titanium, a material that has been proven in general arthroplasty for decades. The fixing component resembles a bolt and is made of titanium. This material has also been successfully used in general arthroplasty for decades. The articular resurfacing component and the cancellous screw fixation component that mate together via a taper interlock to provide stable and immobile fixation of the implant and stress bearing contact at the bone/prosthetic interface.
Resurfacing implant systems are available for shoulder, hip, knee, including PFJ, foot-ankle, and metatarsal joints. In Bulgaria, NHIF partially covers only knee and PF implant systems.
Because the treatment costs for total joint replacement and resurfacing implant systems do not significantly differs, the patient and the doctor should discuss the suitability of such a treatment: e.g. the size of the defect; joint and joint apparatus status, general health condition, age and lifestyle and, last but not least, the experience of the treating physician with joint preservation technology
HemiCAP® and UniCAP® joint preservation technology has been developed for the so-called "millennium" patients - who, due to increased life expectancy, want to stay at their job longer and prefer an active lifestyle.
Joint preservation technology is suitable for patients who realize the need to maintain joint mobility.
Resurfacing implants are a stand-alone treatment option that covers the gap between conservative and biological treatment and total joint arthroplasty.
HemiCAP® and (UniCAP®) resurfacing implant systems restore the joint defect while maintaining the remaining joint structures unaffected.
The natural biomechanics of the joint are retained, allowing patients to maintain their usual movements and activities
Clinical tracking at over 60,000 implants worldwide shows positive results in all HemiCAP® (UniCAP®) joint implants (shoulder, hip, knee, foot)
In the multi-center studies conducted, patients reported a change in pain; for a short rehabilitation period and a significant improvement in the volume of movement.
The operations of some articular implants may be performed under outpatient conditions.
For patients who have the beginning stages of arthritis or cartilage damage, NanoFx is a preliminary treatment for pain relief
NanoFx (Nanofracture) is a device for marrow stimulation that provides a better solution than a standard microfracture technique. In this Nanofracture procedure, a surgeon uses a needle to create holes in the exposed defect that will cause bleeding. This enables new cartilage to develop, which will grow and fill the lesion to create a new surface. This response is similar to the healing process of a “scar” or the way a scab grows over a cut. The NanoFx procedure has been proven to create smaller and deeper cell channels than a standard microfracture technique, therefore stimulating more bone marrow and achieving better results.
The NanoFx® (Nanofracture) offers a “Smaller, Deeper, Better” solution compared to a standard microfracture procedure. The instruments consist of a reusable Hand Instrument and a single use disposable PleuriStik™ for performing a microfracture procedure for the treatment of small localized articular cartilage defect sites. The 1mm PleuriStik™ disrupts less surface area than a standard microfracture technique and it was purposefully designed to reduce damage to the subchondral plate. It penetrates down to a standardized 9mm depth to reach the targeted marrow cells, three times deeper than comparable microfracture techniques. When tested against an awl or k-wire, NanoFx® resulted in thin, fragmented cancellous bone channels without rotational heat generation. It also demonstrated deep cancellous bone perforation with a higher number of open trabecular channels.
The NanoFx® handle is available with a 15° angle and as an A-Curve, which is specifically designed for hard to access Ankle Lesions.
