Computer-guided surgery with Smith+Nephew's hip replacement implants shown to significantly improve survivorship and increase patient satisfaction compared to conventional surgery

LONDON, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Smith+Nephew (LSE: SN, NYSE: SNN), the global medical technology business, today announces a new study showing that computer-guided technology for total hip arthroplasty (THA) – such as Smith+Nephew's RI.HIP NAVIGATION – significantly reduces the risk of revision and increases patient satisfaction when using Smith+Nephew implants.

The study is the first of its kind using the dataset from the world's largest arthroplasty register (National Joint Registry of England, Wales and Northern Ireland) to investigate the effect of computer-guided THA surgery on implant survivorship.¹ The data reported on THA surgery performed using Smith+Nephew hip replacement components implanted for osteoarthritis since 2003. Presented at the 2021 World Arthroplasty Congress (WAC), the results demonstrated:

• Significantly lower revision rate at 10 years with computer-guided (1.06%) vs. conventional THA (3.88%; p=0.005)
• 55% lower risk of revision at 10 years with computer-guided vs. conventional THA (p=0.038)
• Patient satisfaction was significantly higher in the computer-guided group compared to conventional THA (p=0.003)

"Computer-guided technology for total hip arthroplasty has been around for more than twenty years and this study confirms that it greatly improves a patient's chance for long-term success and their overall satisfaction," said Prof. Edward T. Davis FRCS, of The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. "RI.HIP NAVIGATION helps me take control of individual patient pelvic tilt, leg length and offset measurement while assisting with cup placement by giving a predicted view of the post-op AP X-ray in surgery. This gives me supreme confidence that I'm performing the most accurate THA procedure for my patient and ensuring the best possible result."  

RI.HIP NAVIGATION technology is designed to help maximise accuracy and reproducibility by delivering patient-specific component alignment – a critical factor for surgeons when assessing individual THA cases. Using this technology with Smith+Nephew's leading POLAR3 Primary Total Hip System – comprised of POLARSTEM, OXINIUM and R3 acetabular components – has the potential to take THA to the next level of performance for surgeons and patients.