dj Orthopedics Launches New, Portable Pain Management System to Control Postoperative Pain
SAN DIEGO, Jan. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- dj Orthopedics, Inc. (NYSE: DJO), a designer, manufacturer, and marketer of products and services for the orthopedic sports medicine market, today introduced a new ambulatory pain management system designed to control postoperative pain. The DonJoy® Pain Control Device (PCD) is a state-of-the-art, portable, disposable
pump that continuously delivers physician prescribed local anesthetic directly into a surgical site over an extended period of time to manage postoperative pain.
Managing postoperative pain at the incision site during the first 72 hours after surgery often reduces the amount of narcotic pain medication required by patients, as well as the subsequent side effects associated with narcotic usage. Reduced pain can also increase patient mobility and contribute to faster recovery and rehabilitation times. dj Orthopedics will market the new device in a convenient sterile kit throughout the United States and Canada where the Company has exclusive distribution rights for all surgical applications.
The DonJoy PCD consists of a new pump manufactured by McKinley Medical, an international supplier of infusion systems and the designer of one of the world's leading pain-management pumps. McKinley's technology incorporates a latex-free disposable system, integrating a proprietary syringe reservoir with a mechanical driver. The DonJoy PCD also features convenient gradient markings on the pump enabling medical personnel and patients to monitor the amount of local anesthetic that has been administered, a feature not found on elastomeric balloon pumps. The DonJoy PCD will be available initially in two reservoir volumes, 100 mL and 275 mL, with multiple flow rates for continuous infusion of up to 5 days. Combined with accessories, including fenestrated, or multi-hole catheters, the new system will provide postoperative pain control for a variety of surgical applications.
"As one of the leading suppliers of ambulatory pain management solutions for the orthopedic sports medicine market, we are pleased to introduce our new and improved system for surgeons and their patients," said Les Cross, President and CEO of dj Orthopedics. "Product innovation whether developed internally or acquired through technology leaders such as McKinley, has been the hallmark of our mission to deliver cost-effective medical solutions that improve patient outcomes. We are also excited about future opportunities to expand pain management sales to broader surgical applications within the hospital market through our extensive relationships with national and regional medical/surgical distributors, as well as through our portfolio of large, long-term national supply contracts and group purchasing organizations such as Broadlane and Premier."
Local anesthetic infiltration is an established technique for the management of postoperative pain. It is common practice in knee and shoulder surgeries to administer a bolus of non-narcotic Bupivacaine (Marcaine®) intraoperatively in the joint. However, the duration of relief from this procedure is usually limited to the first few hours after surgery. The DonJoy PCD provides a continuous low dose infusion of local anesthetic directly into the wound site to help manage postoperative pain for periods of 24 - 120 hours. The infusion reduces or eliminates the need for systemic pain medications, such as narcotics and the related side effects, allowing the patient to quickly return to ambulation with improved range of motion, enhancing the recovery and rehabilitation process. Traditional pain management following surgical procedures consists of treatment with intravenous or intramuscular injections of narcotics in the early phase of recovery, followed by administration of oral narcotics. Systemic narcotic usage frequently has side effects such as respiratory depression, excessive sedation, gastro- intestinal upset (nausea and vomiting), addiction and constipation, which may interfere with the patient's rehabilitation and recovery.
About dj Orthopedics
dj Orthopedics is a global orthopedic sports medicine company focused on the design, manufacture and marketing of products and services that regenerate and rehabilitate soft tissue and bone after trauma, help protect against injury and treat osteoarthritis of the knee. Its broad range of over 600 rehabilitation products, many of which are based on proprietary technologies, includes rigid knee braces, soft goods, specialty and other complementary orthopedic products such as cold therapy and pain management systems. The Company's regeneration products consist of two bone growth stimulation devices, the OL1000, approved by the FDA in 1994, which utilizes patented Combined Magnetic Field technology to deliver a highly specific, low-energy signal for the non-invasive treatment of an established nonunion fracture acquired secondary to trauma, excluding vertebrae and all flat bones, and SpinaLogic®, a state-of-the-art device used as an adjunct to primary lumbar spinal fusion surgery for one or two levels, approved by the FDA in late 1999. The Company's products provide solutions for orthopedic professionals and their patients throughout the patient's continuum of care.
About McKinley Medical
McKinley Medical is an infusion technology company that offers innovative solutions designed to meet the growing needs of the worldwide healthcare market for high quality drug delivery. With operations in the United States and Europe, McKinley is dedicated to providing its customers with exceptionally precise and cost-effective solutions for infusion therapy and pain management. McKinley pain-management systems are leaders in the rapidly emerging markets of orthopedics and general surgery.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding dj Orthopedics' new DonJoy® Pain Control Device (PCD) and the impact of the PCD on dj Orthopedics' future growth and profitability. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Forward-looking statements include references to the future opportunities to expand pain management sales to broader surgical applications beyond orthopedics and to expand sales by leveraging existing and future relationships with product distributors and group purchasing organizations. These forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current expectations and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that might cause actual results to differ significantly from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements: including the risk that the PCD may not be successful in the marketplace; that our plans to leverage our sales channel relationships to expand sales of PCD products will not be achieved; and the risk that competitive products or technologies in pain management and/or competition in the marketplace will undermine the Company's sales and profitability goals. Many other risk factors are detailed in our readily available Annual Report on Form 10-K for the 2002 calendar year, filed on March 28, 2003 with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE dj Orthopedics, Inc.
-0- 01/06/2004
CO: dj Orthopedics, Inc.; McKinley Medical
ST: California
IN: HEA MTC
SU: PDT
AJ
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9534 01/06/2004 07:01 EST http://www.prnewswire.com
Company Investor/Media Contact:
DJO Incorporated
Mark Francois
Director of Corporate Communications & Investor Relations
760-734-4766
Mark.Francois[at]djoglobal[dot]com
media,
303-398-0342,
