Why Settle for Compromises With Your Total Knee Replacement?

When preparing the tibia in every off-the-shelf knee replacement, a knee surgeon has to choose between maximizing the fit of the implant at the expense of potentially being malrotated rotated or under sizing the fit of the tibia and getting the correct rotation. 

If the decision is to maximize fit and sacrifice rotation, then there is a higher risk of implant overhang which could lead to soft tissue impingement and postoperative pain. 

If instead, the surgeon decides to sacrifice fit to improve rotation then there is a higher risk of implant loosening which could be followed by subsidence. 

Many believe the solution to this widespread problem is to provide more implant sizes. But even if there were 100 sizes available, you would still not be able to recreate the unique shape of each person’s tibia. We have all been born with a unique shape to our knee and only Conformis, with their custom-made knee replacement, respects our unique shape and gives the patient and surgeon both, proper alignment and rotation, without the compromises that every off-the-shelf knee forces a surgeon to make and a patient to live with. 

The below study by Dr. Gregory Martin analyzed the tibial fit of three off-the-shelf Implants vs. the Conformis Customized Total Knee Replacement. The results speak for themselves. 

G Martin. In-Vivo Tibial Fit Analysis of Customized, Patient-Specific TKA Versus Off-the-Shelf TKA

Outpatient Total Knee Replacement Using The Only Custom Knee Replacement in The World

The attached article, which was featured in Becker’s ASC Review, highlights how Conformis has helped knee replacement surgeons deliver a positive outpatient total knee replacement experience using our unique, individually made, iTotal Customized Knee Replacement.

The key sentence to this informative article is how the author says, “The customization fits patients better, so there is a reduced risk for residual pain from wrong-sized implants, and by matching the patient’s unique J-curves, the implant offers the potential to result in a “forgotten” and more stable knee.” They further go in to explain why the Customized Knee Replacement by Conformis is the biggest technological advancement available to patients. 

Dr. Buch explains that since adopting the Conformis technology that 70% of his patients go home on the first or second day after surgery and possibly equally important is how none of his patients need to be discharged to a recovery center. Dr. Buch believes this may be because of the decreased amount of bone that is cut and the patient-specific fit of the Conformis Custom Implants. These advantages may allow for improved recovery times and less pain as a result of less blood loss and less swelling.

Other advantages to outpatient TKR with Conformis include reproducibility, less need for pain medications, pre-sterilized cutting blocks and implants in one box, fewer trays to sterilize, no inventory storage, higher patient satisfaction, more patients, and better outcomes. Please read the article for more details on the advantages of outpatient total knee replacement using the only custom knee replacement in the world. 

Outpatient TKR Critical Factors Enabling Successful TKR Procedures in ASCs Beckers ASC Review 

Outpatient Total Knee Replacement Using the Conformis Technology

Becker’s ASC Review recently highlighted how Conformis has helped surgeons deliver a positive outpatient total knee replacement experience using our unique, individually made, iTotal Customized Knee Replacement.

The key sentence to this informative article for me is how the author says, when speaking about Conformis, “The customization fits patients better so there is a reduced risk for residual pain from wrong-sized implants and by matching the patient’s unique J-curves, the implant offers the potential to result in a “forgotten” and more stable knee.” Outpatient TKR is being driven by patient demand and patient understanding of the recent advancements in technology. The biggest of these technological advancements is the custom made Conformis iTotal. 

Dr Buch goes on to explain that since adopting the Conformis technology, 70% of his patients go home on the first or second day after surgery and equally important is that none of his patients need to be discharged to a recovery center. Dr Buch believes this may be because of the decreased amount of bone that is cut and the patient-specific fit of the Conformis Custom Knee Implants. These advantages may allow for improved recovery times and less pain as a result of less blood loss and reduced swelling.

Other advantages to doing outpatient total knee reconstruction with Conformis include: reproducibility, less need for pain medications, pre-sterilized cutting blocks and implants in one box, fewer trays to sterilize, no inventory storage, higher patient satisfaction, more patients, and better outcomes.

Please read the article for more details: Outpatient TKR Critical Factors Enabling Successful TKR Procedures in ASCs Beckers ASC Review

Conformis Economic Study

Conformis presented this phenomenal economic study at the 2016 ICJR Pan Pacific Congress that was completed by Dr Robert Buch and his team. This is the first study to show the impact that implant design can have on a hospitals Fast Track protocol.

Dr Buch’s team showed that patients who received the Conformis Custom Knee Replacement had a shorter length of stay, were more likely to be discharged to home instead of to a skilled nursing facility, and achieved a significantly better range of motion.

The ability to shorten the length of stay at the hospital and improve the percentage of patients who were discharged directly to their home instead of a skilled nursing facility allows a hospital to see a $2,200 savings in the cost of the patient’s care by using a customized Conformis knee instead of an off-the-shelf knee replacement.

Please read the complete study for more information.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/conformisfiles/1472064451-mk-03098-ab-fast-track-hospital-metrics-patient-outcomes-icjr-pan-pacific-2-.pdf

The EconoMic Benefits Conformis Offers Hospitals

The attached video provides a brief understanding of the new CJR Bundled Payment Program for Total Knee Replacements. This video does a wonderful job explaining the significant benefits the Conformis Custom Knee Replacement provides to hospitals. As you will see in the video, Conformis helps reduce hospital costs by:

1) Reducing the number of surgical trays needed per procedure from an average of five trays to one tray. This is accomplished because we provide pre-sterilized, patient-specific, instruments and implants that are disposed of after the procedure.

2) One of the many studies that have featured the Conformis custom knee showed that when compared to an off-the-shelf knee replacement the patients who received the Conformis technology had their length of stay in the hospital shortened by 1.1 days.

3) Patients who received the Conformis Knee Replacement also had a significantly higher rate of hospital stays that were under 24 hours.

4) A significantly higher percentage of patients with the Conformis knee were discharged to their homes instead of to a skilled nursing facility when compared to an off-the-shelf knee replacement.

5) Total hospital savings, per patient, were shown to be $2,200 and this was accomplished just by shortening the patient’s length of stay and improving the patient’s discharge disposition.