Smith & Nephew Endoscopy’s OSTEORAPTOR(TM) Anchor Provides Bioabsorbable Solution for Labral Tears in the Hip and Shoulder

ANDOVER, Mass., Feb. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Smith & Nephew’s (NYSE: SNN – News; LSE: SN – News) Endoscopy Division has announced the launch of the OSTEORAPTOR Anchor for repair in the hip and shoulder. The device is showcased at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting (AAOS), which begins today in Las Vegas.

During 2009, surgeons will perform an estimated 15,000 labral repair procedures in the hip joint and an estimated 185,000 procedures for the shoulder. Labral repairs are necessary when the labrum, the fibrous cartilage ring that rims the joint socket, tears or becomes stretched due to impingement or acute injury. Damage to the labrum in the hip may be a source of chronic pain and may also contribute to osteoarthritis. In the shoulder, this damage can lead to instability where the upper arm bone slips out of the socket. In standard procedures, surgeons reattach the labrum to the bony socket of the joint using small anchors and suture.

Smith & Nephew Endoscopy’s new OSTEORAPTOR Anchor is the first hip anchor to use Polylactic Acid Hydroxyapatite (PLLA-HA). The key ingredient, Hydroxyapatite (HA), is a mineral found naturally in bone. Studies have shown that the presence of HA increases the anchor’s strength and introduces chemicals that promote the formation of a strong bond between the anchor and the bone surface.(1)