Smith & Nephew Endoscopy Cartilage Research Draws Honors From Largest Arthroscopy Association

ANDOVER, Mass., June 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Arthroscopy Association of North America (AANA) has bestowed its prestigious Richard O'Connor Award to Dr. James Lubowitz and a research team from Smith & Nephew Endoscopy for their study of heat and its effectiveness in treating cartilage defects.

Lubowitz, founder and director of the Taos Orthopaedic Institute in New Mexico, designed and completed the study with Smith & Nephew Endoscopy Principal Scientist Emma Wright and Development Engineers Mathew Mitchell, Marie L. Meyer and Dwayne Dupree.

Each year, more than 600,000 patients undergo surgery to treat cartilage defects, caused either by trauma or wear and tear on the joint. Cartilage is the tissue covering the ends of bones that allows joints to move smoothly.

The process of using heat to surgically remove damaged tissue is known as ablation. Smith & Nephew's RF probe provides a minimally invasive ablation method that smoothes the remaining, healthy tissue. Ablation represents an alternative to resection, which uses a shaver to treat the defects. Ablation allows for more controlled and precise tissue removal. However, the ablation process can damage healthy cartilage cells during removal of diseased cartilage tissue.

The research team investigated how factors such as probe design, generator power settings, as well as speed and force of application affect the procedure. The study showed that those design features could be optimized to ensure retention of the maximum amount of healthy cartilage.

"We found that the most important factors are the ones that can be selected pre-operatively," Dr. Lubowitz said. "That means we can give surgeons guidelines to help them maximize the benefits of RF ablation while minimizing damage to healthy cartilage tissue."

The O'Connor Award is one of only four major awards given by AANA. Each year, the association awards money for clinical or basic science research in the field of arthroscopic surgery of joint disorders.

"Receiving the O'Connor Award is a tremendous achievement by Dr. Lubowitz and the Smith & Nephew research staff," said Max Fiore, vice president, Research and Development. "It acknowledges their hard work and thorough research, and distinguishes Smith & Nephew Endoscopy among its peers in the Arthroscopy marketplace. Research of this kind helps us to innovate and develop better procedures and products for the benefit of our customers and their patients."

Lubowitz presented the research at AANA's spring meeting, which took place in May in Vancouver, British Columbia. The paper, titled "Relative Importance of Variables Influencing Tissue Effect after Thermal Chondroplasty," has been submitted for publication in Arthroscopy: The Journal of Arthroscopic and Related Surgery.

About Smith & Nephew:

Smith & Nephew (http://www.smith-nephew.com/) is a global medical technology business, specializing in Endoscopy, Orthopaedics and Advanced Wound Management products. Smith & Nephew ranks as the global leader in arthroscopy and one of the world's leaders in advanced wound management and is one of the fastest growing orthopaedics companies in the world.

Smith & Nephew is dedicated to helping improve people's lives. The company prides itself on the strength of its relationships with its surgeon and professional healthcare customers, with whom its name is synonymous with the highest standards of performance, innovation and trust. The company has more than 8,000 employees and operates in 33 countries around the world and generated sales of nearly $2.3 billion.

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Contact: Joe Metzger Smith & Nephew Endoscopy (978) 749-1330