CHICAGO, March 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Zimmer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ZMH; SIX: ZMH), a global leader in musculoskeletal health, today introduced the Zimmer® Trabecular Metal™ Total Ankle, a complete ankle replacement and instrument system, at the 2013 American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons annual meeting. The Zimmer Trabecular Metal Total Ankle is designed to restore alignment, reduce pain, and preserve the flexion and extension movement of the ankle joint.
“Maintaining harmony with the natural anatomy of the ankle was our central design concept with the Zimmer Trabecular Metal Total Ankle,” said Roberto Munoz , Vice President and General Manager, Zimmer Extremities. “This is the first ankle replacement to bring contemporary advances realized in knee and hip replacement to total ankle arthroplasty, including advanced bearing materials and anatomically-matched shapes and sizes.”
The Zimmer Trabecular Metal Total Ankle consists of a talar component, a tibial base component, and a modular tibial articular surface, available in six different sizes to accommodate variations in patient anatomy. The articulating surfaces of the implant mimic the truncated conical shape of the ankle joint and are designed to reproduce natural joint kinematics while providing joint stability.
The Zimmer Trabecular Metal Total Ankle is implanted through a lateral surgical approach, which allows for full visualization of the ankle joint with more precise implant placement. The Zimmer Trabecular Metal Total Ankle incorporates a proprietary set of instruments, employing rigid external fixation of the anatomy to help ensure that alignment is accurately reproduced.
The modular articular surface of the Zimmer Trabecular Metal Total Ankle is manufactured with Prolong® Highly Crosslinked Polyethylene, which has over 10 years of excellent clinical history as a bearing material in total knee arthroplasty. Due to the virtual elimination of free radicals, Prolong Polyethylene is designed to resist oxidation and reduce surface wear and subsurface fatigue.
For more information about the Zimmer Trabecular Metal Total Ankle, visit Zimmer at Booth 529 at the 2013 American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons annual meeting in Chicago, or go to www.zimmer.com.
