Hospital Achieves 20% Savings Performing NuVasive's XLIF Lumbar

an Diego, CA — NuVasive, Inc., a medical device company focused on developing products for minimally disruptive surgical treatments for the spine, announced that Providence Medford Medical Center in Medford, OR has recorded a 20% cost savings when using NuVasive's proprietary XLIF (eXtreme Lateral Interbody Fusion) procedure for lumbar spine fusion surgery compared to a traditional ALIF (anterior) approach.

Providence Medford Medical Center achieved these 20% savings based on a reduction in both "direct" and "indirect" procedure costs. Direct cost savings are primarily achieved through the use of a lesser number of implants. The typical XLIF procedure uses one large implant versus two (or more) implants in the typical ALIF procedure. Indirect hospital costs are those attributable to a hospital's "cost-of-care" such as length of hospital stay, corresponding nursing care and supplies. The XLIF procedure substantially lowered Providence Medford's total cost of care due to substantial reductions in patient tissue disruption, surgery time, and hospital stay in comparison to an ALIF procedure.

The XLIF procedure technique allows spine surgeons to achieve a direct lateral approach to the patient's intervertebral disc space through the psoas muscle as compared to more traditional open procedures which utilize an ALIF (through the abdomen) or PLIF (posterior, through the back muscle) approach. Coupled with NuVasive's NeuroVision® Nerve Avoidance System, the Company's MaXcess® Retraction System allows for maximum surgical access to the spine for addressing the pathology and inserting an interbody implant. This allows for access to the spine through the splitting of muscles, rather than cutting of muscles, thereby minimizing soft tissue dissection and disruption that often occurs during open surgery.

Michael Strasser, Chief Financial Officer of Providence Medford Medical Center, said, "Given the current hospital economic environment, we fully appreciate technologies that can deliver improved patient outcomes with attractive financial benefits. The XLIF procedure is a primary example of this type of technology. On average, we have documented an XLIF average hospitalization time of 1.8 days compared to an average of 4.2 days in prior years when this technology was not available. These metrics are significantly less than what we experienced prior to XLIF and it's clearly positive news for patients, surgeons and hospitals alike."

Dr. Mark Peterson, fellowship trained spine surgeon at Providence Medford Medical Center, said, "In addition to the measurable economic benefits that XLIF provides, the safety profile of the procedure as compared to traditional, more open approaches is greatly improved. This is due to the avoidance of major anatomical structures, drastically mitigating any potential adverse events that have occurred with other types of procedures. I find this advantage especially attractive when operating on elderly or higher-risk patients who are frequently contra-indicated for such an invasive procedure as an ALIF."

Alexis V. Lukianov, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Although the cost savings achieved by Providence Medford Medical Center is based on a limited sampling, the data fully supports our view that our MAS Platform and XLIF procedure provide the highest quality benefits to patients in an efficient economic manner. We believe our MAS Platform and XLIF procedure position NuVasive to directly benefit from the increased hospital focus on clinical benefits as well as economics. Our sales force of Area Business Managers and exclusive distributors continue to articulate our technology's benefits to hospitals as we make progress on increasing our share of the spine market."

SOURCE: NuVasive