Medicrea has recently partnered with Children’s Hospital (New Orleans, USA) orthopaedic surgeon, Andrew G King, to speak on his experience using Medicrea’s UNiD rods for customised spinal surgeries.
This comes shortly after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the rod for use in the cervical spine, and the recent milestone of 700 patients treated with customisable UNiD thoracolumbar rods.
Three adolescent female patients of King have spoken in a video for Medicrea, released in time for Scoliosis Awareness Month. All three describe their journey from pain and discomfort, to returning to active lives. 
King states, “The patient-specific rod is very much ahead of its time. When we finish the operation, we have left them with the best possible appearance for the rest of their lives. The curve is not going to worsen and there is less likelihood of them having pain.”
Medicrea’s customised rods for cervical, thoracic and lumbar operations are designed to be scientifically matched with the patient’s unique spinal alignment. Medicrea’s UNiD Lab team partners with the surgeon for each case to conduct a precise software analysis of each patient, as the surgeon determines an operative strategy for the patient’s unique complication.
This is intended to eliminate the difficulty of manually bending the rods during the surgery and significantly reduces time in the operating room.
For King, this approach to surgery has improved his practice and ability to better understand patients before the operation. He states, “I personally have been bending those rods for 34 years. I’ve been underwhelmed by my ability to bend a rod so that it matches the perfect numbers.”
Karly, one of King’s patients, describes her surgery as life-changing. The 14-year-old says, “If I slept a certain way or just sat certain ways it would cause pain. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to play softball or do cheer. It’s been almost four months. I started playing softball again and made the team.”
King adds, “I am actually amazed at what my patients can do these days, in particular after a major surgery.”
Patients treated with UNiD typically spend less time under anaesthesia, according to a company release. Ten to fifteen minutes can be cut off surgery time, Medicrea claims.