Taiyuan, China – Suzhou MicroPort OrthoRecon ("MicroPort® OrthoRecon") recently attended the Second Annual Meeting of Chinese Hip Joint Society ("CHJS") and the Fourth Annual Meeting of Chinese Hip Society ("CHS"), held in Shanxi International Conference Center in Taiyuan of Shanxi Province, and hosted "SuperPath™ Fast Recovery Forum" Satellite Meeting in the annual meeting of CHJS.
The annual meeting of CHJS was hosted by Chinese Medical Doctor Association and Chinese Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons, and co-organized by CHJS. The annual meeting of CHS was hosted by Chinese Medical Association and the Orthopedic Branch of Chinese Medical Association, and organized by CHS. More than 400 domestic and international orthopedic specialists and surgeons were attracted to attend the two meetings.
The MicroPort® OrthoRecon satellite meeting was chaired by Professor Xianlong Zhang of Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital of Shanghai Jiaotong University, who is also the Team Leader of CHJS. Professor Yunsu Chen of Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital and Professor Kang Sun of the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University were invited to deliver speeches on the surgical technique, learning curve and clinical outcome of the SuperPath™ Micro-posterior Total Hip Arthroplasty Technique ("SuperPath™") procedure.
During the satellite meeting, Professor Yunsu Chen shared the key steps and operating skills of SuperPath™. He concluded the main features of the technique, including preservation of the external rotators which could reduce the dislocation rate at the most and achieve full function faster; decreased bleeding and neural paralysis as there is no interruption of neural or vascular interface; preservation of intact anterior and posterior capsular to ensure stability of post-operative hip function; no surgical dislocation of the hip which can reduce the occurrence of vascular twist in order to lower the risk of DVT (Deep Venous Thrombosis); direct visualization of both acetabulum and femur; no need of special operating bed and retractors with the patient in the lateral position; only one assistant is needed during the operation. Because of these features, the SuperPath™ procedure offers added advantages compared to traditional hip reconstruction surgical techniques. For instance, it reduced the risk of distal fractures as the femur is prepared in situ which helps to determine the ante-version more accurately. In addition, the surgeon has complete freedom to change SuperPath™ approach to Moore approach during the operation, which reduces the occurrence of potential complications during the learning curve.
Afterwards, Professor Sun shared the clinical outcome of the SuperPath™ procedure. Since the end of May 2015 that he started to perform Total Hip Arthroplasty ("THA") surgeries using SuperPath™ technique, he has collected clinical data from 85 THA cases in 80 patients. Compared to the Hardinge approach conducted in the same period, the SuperPath™ approach showed better results. Specifically, the length of incision of SuperPath™ is 6.1cm on average, and that of Hardinge approach is 14.3cm on average; patients who undertook SuperPath™ approach took 23.6 hours on average to walk on their feet after surgeries, compared to 36.4 hours for those who used Hardinge approach; and the SuperPath™ Group recorded higher VAS Grade and Harris Grade than the Hardinge Group.
According to Professor Su, statistics show SuperPath™ procedure has learning curve, which consisted approximately 30 cases in the above-mentioned study. In the 85 THA surgeries he performed, only three occurred post-operative complications, which are all included in the initial 30 cases; and the operation time shortened from 65 minutes for the initial 30 cases to 52 minutes for the following 55 cases. Professor Sun offered suggestionsto surgeons who are interested in helping more patients get a faster return to function with minimally invasive ("MIS") techniques, and hoped that they could enhance the understanding in the MIS concepts and all kinds of MIS THA techniques, consolidate the foundation of normal THA surgeries and always remember to innovate and practice. His experience sharing was well received by the attendees.
In the end of the meeting, Professor Xianlong Zhang pointed out, "Fast Recovery" is desired not only by patients but also surgeons. Any surgical technique has its learning curve, but this should not stand in the way of promoting the techniques. Special training and experience sharing would help reduce the learning curve for surgeons so as to enable more patients to benefit from procedures that facilitate "Fast Recovery".
During the conferences, the company displayed all of its hip and knee devices such as SuperPath™ and EVOLUTION™ - the second-generation Medial-Pivot Knee System, which attracted wide attention from the attendees. Many experts including Professor Xianlong Zhang, Professor Yixin Zhou of Beijing Jishuitan Hospital and Professor Jiying Chen of Chinese PLA General Hospital also visited the booth of MicroPort® OrthoRecon to learn more about the SuperPath™ technique and how it can result in "Fast Recovery."
As the world's first MIS posterior approach THA technique that facilitates a faster return to function for patients, SuperPath™ was introduced to China in 2014 and so far has been performed in around 100 domestic hospitals located in 22 provinces and cities. The SuperPath™ technique is truly a "minimally invasive" procedure which aims to get patients back on their feet within days (possibly hours), with smaller incision, less pain and less blood loss. MicroPort® OrthoRecon will keep promoting the revolutionary solution to help offer patients with hip joint diseases a more comfortable post-op experience and a faster return to hip function.