NEW YORK & LYON, France–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The MEDICREA Group (Alternext Paris: FR0004178572 – ALMED), a company that specializes in the development of innovative spinal implants for the treatment of spinal pathologies, today announced the U.S. launch of LigaPASS® 2.0 generation, MEDICREA’s band connector technology for posterior thoraco-lumbar fixation. The next-generation technology features numerous improvements and is now cleared for use in adolescent idiopathic and neuromuscular scoliosis patients 10 years of age and older in addition to adults.
With over 5,000 LigaPASS® systems implanted worldwide in the past two years, MEDICREA’s proprietary technology provides surgeons with a safe and efficient alternative solution to screws and hooks that allows translation and derotation of vertebral bodies. The new generation system features an extended range of connectors, a band with a narrower malleable tip to allow for safer passage underneath the lamina and a dual-band option, which allows surgeons to pass two bands underneath the lamina at once, saving considerable time during neuromuscular cases.
“The LigaPASS® which is the only sub-laminar band technology truly offering de-rotation capabilities, has become an integral part of my surgical treatment for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients,” said Afshin Aminian, M.D., a pediatric orthopedic surgeon and medical director at Children’s Hospital of Orange County, USA. “I’ve been using it for over three years and the clinical outcomes have been excellent. Through improved features such as the thinner malleable tip and dual-band option, this latest version offers even greater capabilities and ease of use to meet my needs in the OR, and will allow surgeons to provide optimal care to their patients.” 
The LigaPASS® 2.0 generation is universal. Every connector can be used with the most common rod diameters available on the market (from 5.5 to 6mm). The range now includes 2 new connectors: the LigaPASS® LP and the LigaPASS® Open. With its extra-low profile design, the LigaPASS® LP Connector offers greater capabilities for operating on very difficult neuromuscular cases and young, small patients. LigaPASS® Open is an open connector that can be inserted onto the rod of an already existing construct, offering placement versatility at any stage during the surgery.
“For small osteopenic neuromuscular scoliosis patients, LigaPASS® 2.0 provides an excellent alternative to pedicle screws without compromising fixation,” said Samuel R. Rosenfeld, M.D., a pediatric orthopedic surgeon and director of the Spina Bifida Clinic, Muscular Dystrophy Clinic and Spasticity Clinics at Children’s Hospital of Orange County, USA. “With version 2.0, MEDICREA has taken this band technology to another level, not only by improving the design and performance, but also by creating a full range of LigaPASS® components that can address any AIS or neuromuscular case.”
Denys SOURNAC, Founder, CEO and Chairman of MEDICREA, added, “We are extremely pleased with the growing rate of LigaPASS® use among surgeons and the excellent outcomes patients have experienced during more than three years of adoption. As part of our commitment to improving outcomes for patients and offering our customers groundbreaking innovation to make their jobs more efficient, we believe we have reinvented the concept of ‘band-connectors’ and developed implants and instruments that dramatically improve ease of use and functionality”.