ArthroCare Launches Opus TwinLock Knotless Fixation System
Austin, TX - ArthroCare Corp. announced recently the launch of its new Opus TwinLock Knotless Fixation System – a device that, as part of the Company's innovative AutoCuff System family of products, is designed to provide orthopedic surgeons with a simpler, faster process for performing arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs.
Each year, an estimated four million people in the United States seek medical attention for shoulder injuries. Over 400,000 will undergo surgical repair of the rotator cuff.
Pain caused by an affected rotator cuff can be quite severe – ranging from nagging night pain to agonizing limitation of mobility of the arm.
"In testing the Opus TwinLock Knotless Fixation System, we've found it has applications for many needs in rotator cuff repair such as double row and transtendinous medial repair," said Louis Peter Re, M.D., Director of Shoulder Arthroscopy, Riverside Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine and Clinical Instructor of Shoulder Reconstruction and Arthroscopy at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Medical Center, New York. "In terms of accelerating the process, providing an effective repair, and generally simplifying what can otherwise be a more time consuming process, the TwinLock device accomplishes the goals it sets out to achieve and has become a regular tool on our shelf."
The TwinLock system is equipped with a tiny (1.8 mm), sharp tip, designed to cleanly pierce the cuff for easy maneuverability and optimal implant placement while causing minimal disruption to the cuff tendon. The device's locking wings provide strong bone hold and are set prior to attaching the tendon to the bone to eliminate implant movement once the repair is complete.
Because TwinLock is a dual implant system, it allows two implants to be placed through one small skin incision, directly through the cuff – negating the need for several visualization adjustments and thus providing maximum procedure efficiency for the physician and the patient. The dual implants' tethered, tensioning design provides secure, adjustable tension to the cuff for ideal tendon-to-bone contact to repair the affected cuff.
"We're very excited about the launch of our TwinLock Knotless Fixation System," said Jack Giroux, president of ArthroCare Sports Medicine. "The device is designed to dramatically simplify the most challenging rotator cuff repairs by providing a dual implant system that can be placed and tensioned by the surgeon in seconds – directly through the rotator cuff. The TwinLock takes our AutoCuff System collection of instruments to the next level and enables us to offer surgeons all the tools they need to tackle any rotator cuff repair with ease."
As part of ArthroCare's Opus family of products, the TwinLock Knotless Fixation System is designed to help solve some of the complex problems of rotator cuff repair by providing surgeons with a swift and simple solution. As a result of this advance in technology, ArthroCare believes that 70,000 shoulder injuries currently untreated or performed as open repairs can now be repaired arthroscopically. Giroux noted that TwinLock is now ready for shipping and ArthroCare Sports Medicine expects to begin fulfilling surgeons' requests for the technology within the next month.
SOURCE: ArthroCare Corp.