Zimmer Developing New Minimally Invasive Solution Procedure for Hip Replacement
(Warsaw, Indiana - July 2001)- Zimmer, Inc. announced it is developing an MIS™ Minimally Invasive Solution procedure for people undergoing hip replacement surgery.
The first minimally invasive hip replacement surgery of this kind was performed at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago this past February.
"Minimally invasive orthopaedic procedures are just beginning to be utilized and are expected to grow in popularity for joint replacement surgery," reports Sheryl Conley, Vice President of Global Brand Management and Commercialization for Zimmer. In 2000, Zimmer launched an MIS procedure for its M/G Unicompartmental Knee System ("Uni Knee"), as an alternative to the standard procedure for qualified patients.
"New minimally invasive techniques, used with clinically proven implants, can result in shorter recovery times, smaller scars and shorter hospital stays," Conley adds. "Patients have already benefited greatly from minimally invasive techniques in other areas of surgery, such as cardiology and general surgery, and now Zimmer is moving to offer these benefits to orthopaedic patients via MIS procedures."
The company says that its MIS technique uses existing prosthetic implants, which are proven designs. Only the instruments used and the surgical procedure have been modified to enable surgeons to use the minimally invasive approach.
The procedure is being evaluated in Chicago, Montreal, Canada, and Portland, OR. Additional sites are being added globally as well. There are nearly 300,000 hip replacement procedures performed annually in the United States.
Zimmer, based in Warsaw, Indiana, is a global leader in the design, development, manufacturing and market of reconstructive orthopaedic implants and fracture management products. Orthopaedic reconstruction implants restore joint function lost due to disease or trauma in joints such as knees, hips, shoulders and elbows. Fracture management products are devices used primarily to reattach or stabilize damaged bone and tissue to support the body's natural healing process. Zimmer also manufactures and markets other products related to orthopaedic and general surgery. Zimmer was founded in 1927 and has more than 3,200 employees worldwide. For the year 2000, Zimmer recorded worldwide revenues of more than $1 billion.
This press release contains forward-looking statements based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about the orthopaedics industry, management's beliefs and assumptions made by management. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, price and product competition, rapid technological development, demographic changes, dependence on new product development, the mix of our products and services, customer demand for our products and services, our ability to successfully integrate acquired companies, control of costs and expenses, our ability to form and implement alliances, international growth, U.S. and foreign government regulation, reimbursement levels from third-party payors, general industry and market conditions and growth rates and general domestic and international economic conditions including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations. For a further list and description of such risks and uncertainties, see the reports filed by Zimmer with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Zimmer disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
