Positive outcomes from first surgery using Zimmer's DeNovo NT Graft for repair of cartilage lesions

Zimmer Holdings, Inc., a global leader in musculoskeletal care, today announced that results from a peer-reviewed publication demonstrated positive outcomes from the first surgery performed using the DeNovo® NT Graft for the repair of cartilage lesions.  The report includes both two-year patient outcome measures and 21-month follow-up MRI data.  Zimmer will showcase the innovative DeNovo NT Graft at the 2011 American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) annual meeting in San Diego, CA.

Published in The Journal of Knee Surgery, the case report described clinical success with Zimmer's DeNovo NT Graft after two years of implantation when used to treat a symptomatic cartilage lesion in the patella.  The case study reports that the implantation of DeNovo NT Graft resulted in substantial clinical improvement in both pain and function through two years as demonstrated by improvements in the IKDC Subjective and all domains of the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcomes Scores.  MRI data demonstrated that the treated defect was filled with repair tissue which resulted in a near complete resolution of pre-operative subchondral bone edema.

"This first peer-reviewed publication represents a significant milestone for DeNovo NT Graft," said Cheryl R. Blanchard, Ph.D., Zimmer Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer.  "The promising results included in this case report demonstrate how DeNovo NT Graft technology can be used to repair cartilage defects, offering patients and clinicians a new generation of biological cartilage treatment options."

The patient, a 36-year-old male who received the DeNovo NT Graft in May 2007, reported that his pre-operative pain was improved after just seven weeks and that by seven months his range of motion extended up to 140 degrees.  The report's authors state that potential benefits of this new technique can include: single-stage procedure; simplicity in the surgical technique; implantation of juvenile cartilage tissue, which some evidence shows has higher cell density and better repair ability than adult articular cartilage; no donor site morbidity; and no need for use of a periosteal flap, when compared to a more traditional autologous chondrocyte implantation procedure.

DeNovo NT Graft is a juvenile cartilage allograft tissue implant, which provides an early-intervention option for the repair of articular cartilage.  It consists of particulated articular cartilage with actual living cells.  The DeNovo NT Graft offers a single-stage procedure to treat articular cartilage defects in a wide range of anatomical applications including those for the knee, ankle, hip, shoulder or elbow.