NEWSLETTER    Vol. 04/2009, October

AGA 2009: Home Match for BioTissue

German-speaking countries represent very important European markets for the Swiss-German BioTissue. So the 26^th AGA Congress in Leipzig (German-speaking association of arthroscopy) was an event BioTissue could absolutely not miss.

On September 18, BioTissue hosted a successful and well-attended lunch symposium to present the newest clinical results with BioSeed^®-C and chondrotissue^®.

Three well-known srgeons and experienced arthoscopists reported about their scientific projects and clinical outcomes with focus on surgical aspects such as the importance of a stable arthroscopic fixation.

Dr. J. Holz (Park-Klinik Manhagen Hamburg) presented the outcomes of his long-lasting experience with the BioSeed^®-C chondrocyte graft, which started in 2003 and included approx. 20 patients per year treated arthroscopically. He also underlined the promising advantages of a one-step procedure based on the stimulation of the patient’s own stem cells. In this regard he reported the outcomes with the cell-free chondrotissue^® scaffold.

Dr. B. Hantke (Asklepios Orthopädische Klinik Hohwald Neustadt) showed his outcomes with BioSeed^®-C and in particular the fixation technique with resorbable pins (SmartNail™). This technique makes it possible to fix the BioTissue products in a very quick, though stable way. The SmartNail™ technique as well as the subchondral transosseous fixation (Erggelet fixation) are only suitable for resistant scaffolds with mechanical form stability such as BioSeed^®-C and chondrotissue^®. This lecture prompted a very interesting audience discussion about the treatment of large defects and “kissing lesions”. Dr. Hantke’s experience confirmed the outcomes of the clinical study conducted by Dr. Kreuz concerning the treatment of degenerative cartilage defects (Kreuz et al, Arthritis Research & Therapy 2009). Go to the lecture  (German text only)

Prof. W. Petersen (Martin-Luther-Krankenhaus Berlin) presented his 1-year clinical follow-up with chondrotissue^® and focused his attention on the arthroscopic fixation with SmartNails™. He presented the outcomes of his biomechanical studies to underline the importance of a right pin insertion angle. Furthermore he introduced the on-going multi-centric clinical trial which compares chondrotissue^® to the traditional microfracture technique. Go to the lecture

The Symposium was followed by a workshop organized in collaboration with ConMed Linvatec Deutschland. On this occasion Dr. T. Zantop (Universitätsklinikum Münster) showed the arthroscopic pin fixation of  the BioTissue products using SmartNail™.

This year edition of the AGA was again a well-attended platform where BioTissue could strengthen its leadership position on the German-speaking cartilage repair market and could promote its long-lasting research-based experience.

Thanks to all the visitors and lecturers for attending the BioTissue events!

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