LONDON, Oct. 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Smith+Nephew (LSE:SN,NYSE:SNN), the global medical technology business, is pleased to announce results for its NOVOSTITCH Meniscal Repair System today at the International Cartilage Regeneration & Joint Preservation Society (ICRS), Vancouver, Canada highlighting one-year results of the STITCH Study.
The STITCH Study is the first prospective clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of repairing Horizontal Cleavage Tears (HCTs) – one of the most common meniscal tears affecting approximately one-third of patients with this injury.1 The results of the study demonstrated:
1. A success rate of 91.7% (reoperation rate of only 8.3%), and
2. A significant improvement in knee pain and function in all Patient Reported Outcomes (PROs) including KOOS, IKDC, Lysholm and Tegner scores.
Smith+Nephew’s NOVOSTITCH Meniscal Repair System addresses complex meniscal tear patterns not adequately served by other repair systems. Typically, HCTs are treated conservatively or by partial resection, commonly referred to as a meniscectomy, which may put the patient at risk for adverse changes to the knee joint, leaving them open to osteoarthritis or total knee replacement later in life.2,3 Historically, in studies of HCT repair over a follow-up period ranging from 11-70 months, the success rate averaged approximately 78%.4 
“As more surgeons choose to repair versus resect the meniscus, these positive data points help expand this option to more patients with tears previously considered irreparable.”4,5 said Dr. David Flanigan, Director of the Cartilage Restoration Program at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and co-author of the STITCH Study.
“Smith+Nephew’s goal is to transform the surgical paradigm by elevating the standard of care for meniscal tears to a repair instead of a meniscectomy where appropriate,” stated Brad Cannon, President of Global Sports Medicine and ENT at Smith+Nephew. “Currently more than 1.2 million meniscal tears are treated surgically in the US each year with only 15-20% of the cases receiving a repair rather than removal.6 This needs to change,” Cannon remarked.
STITCH Study Principal Investigator and orthopaedic surgeon, Dr. Peter Kurzweil, Memorial Orthopaedic Surgical Group, commented, “The one-year results from STITCH are compelling as the data challenges the notion that HCTs have an unacceptably low rate of repair success when in fact, they have comparable success rates to those of other meniscal tears.”
The STITCH Study will continue to follow patients for two years post-operatively.
The NOVOSTITCHTM Meniscal Repair System, available only in the US, is highly complementary to Smith+Nephew’s leading All Tears, All Repairs meniscal repair portfolio. To learn more about our portfolio and the NOVOSTITCH PRO please visit: http://www.AllTearsAllRepairs.com
References
1. Metcalf MH, Barrett GR. Prospective Evaluation of 1485 Meniscal Tear Patterns in Patients with Stable Knees. AJSM. 2004;32(3):675-680
2. Beamer et al. Changes in Contact Area in Meniscus Horizontal Cleavage Tears Subjected to Repair and Resection. JARS.2017;33(3):617-624
3. Papalia R, Del Buono A, Osti L, Denaro V, Maffulli N. Meniscectomy as a risk factor for knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review. British Medical Bulletin 2011;99:89-106
4. Kurzweil PR, Lynch, NM, Coleman S, Kearney B. Repair of Horizontal Meniscus Tears: A Systematic Review. Arthroscopy. 2014;30(11):1513-1519
5. Abrams GD, Frank RM, Gupta AK, Harris JD, McCormick FM, Cole BJ. Trends in Meniscus Repair and Meniscectomy in the United States, 2005-2011
6. 2018 SmartTRAK US Meniscal Repair Fixation market report
About Smith+Nephew
Smith+Nephew is a portfolio medical technology business that exists to restore people’s bodies and their self-belief by using technology to take the limits off living. We call this purpose ‘Life Unlimited’. Our 16,000+ employees deliver this mission every day, making a difference to patients’ lives through the excellence of our product portfolio, and the invention and application of new technologies across our three global franchises of Orthopaedics, Advanced Wound Management and Sports Medicine & ENT. Founded in Hull, UK, in 1856, we now operate in more than 100 countries, and generated annual sales of $4.9 billion in 2018. Smith+Nephew is a constituent of the FTSE100 (LSE:SN,NYSE:SNN). The terms ‘Group’ and ‘Smith+Nephew’ are used to refer to Smith & Nephew plc and its consolidated subsidiaries, unless the context requires otherwise.
For more information about Smith+Nephew, please visit www.smith-nephew.com and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram or Facebook.
Forward-looking Statements
This document may contain forward-looking statements that may or may not prove accurate. For example, statements regarding expected revenue growth and trading margins, market trends and our product pipeline are forward-looking statements. Phrases such as “aim”, “plan”, “intend”, “anticipate”, “well-placed”, “believe”, “estimate”, “expect”, “target”, “consider” and similar expressions are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from what is expressed or implied by the statements. For Smith+Nephew, these factors include: economic and financial conditions in the markets we serve, especially those affecting health care providers, payers and customers; price levels for established and innovative medical devices; developments in medical technology; regulatory approvals, reimbursement decisions or other government actions; product defects or recalls or other problems with quality management systems or failure to comply with related regulations; litigation relating to patent or other claims; legal compliance risks and related investigative, remedial or enforcement actions; disruption to our supply chain or operations or those of our suppliers; competition for qualified personnel; strategic actions, including acquisitions and dispositions, our success in performing due diligence, valuing and integrating acquired businesses; disruption that may result from transactions or other changes we make in our business plans or organisation to adapt to market developments; and numerous other matters that affect us or our markets, including those of a political, economic, business, competitive or reputational nature. Please refer to the documents that Smith+Nephew has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including Smith+Nephew’s most recent annual report on Form 20-F, for a discussion of certain of these factors. Any forward-looking statement is based on information available to Smith+Nephew as of the date of the statement. All written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to Smith+Nephew are qualified by this caution. Smith+Nephew does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in circumstances or in Smith+Nephew’s expectations.
® Trademark of Smith+Nephew. Certain marks registered US Patent and Trademark Office.
©2019 Smith+Nephew. All rights reserved.
SOURCE Smith+Nephew