Suzhou, China, December 23 2020 – MicroPort® Orthopedics (MPO) China recently hosted the 3rd SuperPATH® Super+User (Better Together) Conference in Suzhou, China, where members of the “SuperPATH® Super+User 100 Cases Club” gathered to exchange their insights on cutting-edge technologies and innovations in hip replacement.
Prof. Yaozeng Xu from The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University served as the rotating chairperson of the Conference this year, and more than 100 joint surgery experts attended the Conference by invitation. The sessions were also live streamed on four online platforms: the MicroPort® Orthopedics platform, Superb Medical Skills, AllinMD Orthopaedics and Orthonline, attracting more than 30,000 viewers to the online event.
In his opening speech, Prof. Xu said “the SuperPATH® procedure is highly compliant with the requirements of minimally invasive surgeries and has a relatively short learning curve, which makes it ideal for wider application”. Prof. Xu pointed out that with a small area of trauma in the procedure; SuperPATH® is a particularly good choice for elderly patients. The Conference also invited a number of eminent experts[1] who delivered excellent lectures from multiple perspectives, such as the surgical procedures, techniques and learning curve of SuperPATH®. Among them, Director Haobo Zhong, who has performed the SuperPATH® procedure since 2017, has rich clinical experience and a deep understanding of the features of this procedure. He mentioned in his speech that “SuperPATH® involves a standardized technical process and standard tools, making it easy to learn and adopt in surgical practices”. He encourages surgeons new to the SuperPATH® procedure to utilize this standardized technical process, to help enhance their skills and techniques, further discovering all the benefits of SuperPATH®.
Attendees also had an opportunity to explore and share knowledge on the concept and technical features of the MicroPort® hip arthroplasty technique SuperPATH® in a variety of formats, including sessions on ‘Live Surgery’, ‘Panel Discussions’, ‘Guest Interviews’ and ‘Experience Sharing’. In particular, during the discussion on the SuperPATH® technique, surgeons shared their practical experience and insights on technical challenges of the SuperPATH® procedure in a special session titled ‘Face-to-Face with Newcomers and Veteran Super Users’. Director Jun Xie, a surgeon with rich experience in SuperPATH® and the first Chinese surgeon who published a paper on SuperPATH® in an SCI journal, highlighted differences between the SuperPATH® procedure and the posterior and direct anterior approaches. He also acknowledged the 100 Cases Club initiated by MicroPort® Orthopedics, citing its contribution to providing a good platform for surgeons to meet and share experience and solutions, thus facilitating the promotion of SuperPATH® in China.
About the MicroPort® MPO China SuperPATH®
As the world’s first minimally invasive rapid recovery hip arthroplasty technique, SuperPATH® of MicroPort® uses incisions measuring 6-8 centimeters to perform hip replacement. It avoids the cutting of 4-5 tendons around the hip in conventional procedures and preserves soft tissues to the maximum extent possible, which significantly improves the postoperative effectiveness and satisfaction of patients who are able to do off-bed activities as soon as 30 minutes after surgery. In addition, with the accelerated aging of society, the number of elderly patients with hip disorder and femoral neck fracture is increasing. Once fracture occurs, the elderly patients often resort to prolonged bed rest, which can easily lead to further sedentary complications that may seriously affect their quality of life. As a result, many senior patients have selected the SuperPATH® procedure, which, according to incomplete data, has been performed on dozens of patients above 90 years old nationwide, and all of them recovered well, with the oldest patient being 103 years old at the time of the operation.
The SuperPATH® Super+User 100 Cases Club has been expanding since it started in 2018. More and more orthopedic specialists exchange information and promote the SuperPATH® technique on the platform, on which MPO China also shares state-of-the-art international academic information and related resources. Thanks to the strong support of Chinese orthopedic specialists, the SuperPATH® technique is now being widely adopted in China. Since January 2018, more than 700 surgeons in over 550 hospitals nationwide have learned, mastered and performed this procedure. In the future, MPO China will continue to work jointly with orthopedic specialists to promote the exchange and development of SuperPATH® technique and popularize the concept of rapid recovery after joint surgery to benefit more patients.
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[1] Experts included: Director Jun Xie from Zhenjiang First People’s Hospital, Director Zhiyong He from Zhejiang University Mingzhou Hospital, Director Weiping Ji from Lishui City People’s Hospital, President Guohua Wu from Langfang Aidebao Hospital, Director Zhiyong Tian from The Fourth People’s Hospital of Guiyang, Director Haobo Zhong from Huizhou First Hospital, Dr. Chuan Li from Orthopedic Center of 920th Hospital of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Joint Logistics Support Force, and Dr. Pengfei Lei from Xiangya Hospital of Central South University,