Issue Date: March 3, 2022
ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Superbowl of Podiatry concluded last weekend in Austin; the turnout for ACFAS by both physicians and industry was massive. It is amazing to see how big the meeting has grown. The exhibitor booths and displays of the mega players keep getting larger! 

With Specialty Day being eliminated from this year’s AAOS, many of the major foot and ankle teams are rumored to be focusing their resources on the next big Foot and Ankle showcase – the AOFAS Summer Meeting in Québec City, Canada.

This weeks newsletter will focus on some of the interesting things we saw in Texas.
As always, thanks for reading, we are extremely grateful for our FANs!
Hit us up with feedback anytime at [email protected].
This week we have:

  • New Product Launches - Stryker | Acumed | Restor3d

  • Golden Sawbone of the Week

  • Little Guys, Big Ideas - miCUTec

  • FAN Archives- Past Newsletter Links

  • PodiatryMeetings.com Calendar of Events

  • AOFAS Meetings
GOLDEN SAWBONE OF THE WEEK
Social Media Edition
A lot of the focus of this week’s edition is on MIS, so how about a Golden Sawbone Award for a gentleman who is at the forefront of MIS Bunion procedures and all things foot and ankle. His Instagram has daily stories and tons of static posts reflecting a myriad of surgical foot and ankle cases we all can learn from.

Congrats to:
Noman A. Siddiqui, DPM, MHA, FACFAS


The featured Instagram post this week shows a 2 min video of Dr. Siddiqui’s MIS bunion procedure technique. Take a look and give him a follow!
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NEW PRODUCT LAUNCHES
Stryker MIS
  • MIS Jig
  • Controlled, Adjustable Shift
  • Stabilization of the Fragment
  • Automatic Targeting of the Screw Trajectories
  • Designed for Use by a Solo Surgeon
Stryker has officially launched the third MIS jig to reach the market and I assume a few more will be on the way from others very soon. 

The concept behind the jig as described by Dr. Peter Mangone, MD – “The Prostep Mica Solo allows you to control all three planes and then allows you to independently throw the guide pins, so you do not need that third hand that is typically required.” 

Following Nova Step and Arthrex, Stryker adds to the MIS frenzy trying to make MIS bunions more reproducible and potentially lessen the learning curve needed to perfect the technique. The videos in the link below show how the jig works.
Syndesmosis Tightrope Device

  • Spring Loaded Medial Button
  • Knotless Tensioning and Fixation
  • Handled Insertion 
Acumed soft launched a pretty cool syndesmosis device, with a unique spring-loaded mechanism that flips the medial button for flush positioning against the drill hole. That feature could eliminate some of the frustration sometimes associated with the use of similar implants. The device is knotless and is inserted on a handle very similar to the Arthrex XP Tight Rope. 

Acumed is still in the process of finalizing some of its distributors and sales rep territories after the Osteomed merger. Known primarily as a hand and wrist entity, the Acumed bag is now full of Foot and Ankle products from Osteomed. Once more infomortion becomes available, we will make sure to cover it.
Restor3d

  • Multiple Footprints, Heights, and Varus/Valgus Angles
  • Disposable Trials
  • Sterile Packed Solution
Restor3d adds to its line of titanium wedges using their TIDAL technology with a subtalar wedge designed to restore, no pun intended, the height of the subtalar joint. The titanium nature of the product makes it a first of its kind product for the indication. Paragon28 offers an allograft subtalar distraction product in their Preserve line. The titanium would seem to have a strength element adverse to the risk of collapse of the allograft. It is unknown how the wedges are fixated or if they are press fit around other forms of fixation. Restor3d is here to stay, they have experienced leadership at the helm in Ken Gall and Kurt Jacobus. These guys have done this before, most recently with MedShape, and I expect them to lead the way in 3D printed and patient specific implants moving forward.

LITTLE GUYS, BIG IDEAS
ACFAS Edition
One thing is clear, bunions are big business. Treace had one of, if not the largest booth at ACFAS. Crossroads sealed the Depuy deal with their expansion into the rotational bunion market. MIS is the current hot trend with considerable growth opportunity. 

Arthrex and NovaStep both released MIS jigs in the last few months, and as previously mentioned, Stryker announced their SOLO MIS Jig system. Whether the bunion is rotational or of the MIS variety, market adoption is expanding rapidly and still has runway to grow. 
Currently, there are approximately 20,000 MIS bunion procedures done annually in the US versus 200,000 in Europe. Meet miCUTec, a Swiss based disposable power equipment company, focusing on MIS procedures. They are currently available for distribution in Europe and our feeling out the US market to see how and where they fit in. miCUTec offers a variety of sterile packed power options based on procedure, offering burrs for MIS and saw attachments for traditional open procedures (see them HERE). At first glance, disposable power seems way outside the box. But is it?
As more procedures are moving to outpatient centers focused on efficiency and profitability, miCUTec may have something. Here is what they could do to potentially make this system attractive to a major US player:

Create a comprehensive, procedural system billed as an implant. Like the sterile packed nitinol staple systems, which eliminate the consumable cost of a drill by including that in the kit, miCUTec could do that and more. They could create an MIS Bundle offering: implants, a disposable jig, burrs, and the power system - all billed under one part number. Open one pack for one case, very efficient turnover which will also preserve or make available in-house power equipment for other cases. Cut down on all processing fees and have a truly fixed cost system for this growing, high volume procedure. In addition, some bunion procedures have the potential to be done in office if a surgical suite is available and assuming the cost is not prohibitive to the billing codes.
I think a recycling/refurbish option of the equipment for the facilities will need to be figured out as an option. Discarding power equipment after one use may seem a little excessive to some people. But that is a solvable problem. 

Overall, miCUTec is someone to watch hit the US market very soon. The low speed, high torque burrs and other power attachments need to work and work well, or this will be a failed project. If properly executed, the system could lead to an exit to a larger company with established distribution in the foot and ankle space needing an MIS solution that is different from the iterations currently available on the market today.
DID YOU MISS SOMETHING?
FAN Archives
CONTINUING EDUCATION
PodiatryMeetings.com Calendar

Looking for a meeting?
This resource has an extensive amount of information for meeting opportunities where you can earn your required continuing education credits.

Click below to access the extensive meeting calendar.
AOFAS Upcoming Meetings & Courses
September 14-17, 2022 | Québec City, Canada
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Foot and Ankle News is curated roundup of the most impactful news for Foot and Ankle Doctors, Rep’s, and Exec’s delivered weekly directly to your inbox.

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