February 23, 2022
Greetings Pacific Sales Team!
This week, I was talking to a rep who has a surgeon interested in our KineMatch Patient-Matched PFR. The only thing holding the surgeon back? Concern that he’ll go through the process only to open up the knee and find that the patient needs a TKA.
This is not an uncommon concern, but Kinamed’s experience is that an intra-operative conversion to TKA is extremely rare. You can address the concern with a discussion on the indications for isolated patellofemoral arthroplasty. Docs that don’t see many of these patients may not be familiar, so they’ll appreciate the following advice:
How do I determine if the patient has isolated PF disease?
Start by keeping an eye out for the typical patient profile for end-Stage Isolated Patello-Femoral Disease:
- Debilitating anterior knee pain when climbing stairs, standing from a sitting position, etc.
Then use proven methods for evaluating each compartment of the knee . We recommend the Ahlbäck Score:
- The main indication for PFR is degenerative or posttraumatic osteoarthritis limited to the patellofemoral joint, so that medial and lateral Ahlbäck scores are less than or equal to 1 point
- An Ahlbäck Score worksheet (attached) is provided in the KineMatch brochure pocket folder. Below are typical x-rays of a patient with disease isolated to the PF joint.
Other indications include:
- Severe symptoms affecting daily activity referable to patellofemoral joint degeneration unresponsive to lengthy non-operative treatment and conservative procedures
- Patellofemoral malalignment/dysplasia induced degeneration with or without instability.
For more info and list of indications and contraindications check out this great Sales Training Webinar – Video and Slide Deck (pdf) and section 3 of this detailed review of the KineMatch system.
In related news, shout out to Chris Rose, Kinamed’s Agent in Idaho and Washington, who replied to last week’s Tip ‘O the Day with a great question that led to a great idea: “Can Kinamed use the Mako CT protocol to build a KineMatch PFR?” The answer is, YES. Kinamed has successfully completed KineMatch cases using both Mako and Conformis CT scans. Their protocols provide all the detail we need. The difference is that our protocol scans just the knee, whereas Mako and Conformis require hip and ankle data as well.
What does this mean for you? This is a great opportunity for you to approach those Mako and Conformis docs who might be on the fence about trying KineMatch, or concerned about identifying the right indications.
- They’ll have the CT scan already, so they can confidently determine when a patient’s arthritis is limited to the patellofemoral compartment.
- They won’t have to send the patient for a 2nd KineMatch scan if they decide to order a KineMatch. I think a lot of Mako users use the Mako PFR out of convenience (“I have the CT scan and we own the robot, so may as well go with the Mako PFR on this patient”), but surgeons who’ve done both emphasize the speed and ease of use of the KineMatch.
So talk to the Mako and Conformis users in your territory and let them know how easy it will be to give KineMatch a try the next time they see a scan that confirms isolated PF arthritis.
The other consideration for Mako users is that some surgeons seem to feel obligated to use that robot their hospital sunk a million dollars into. To get past this, I like to emphasize that we’re not asking them to convert all of their PFR business. “Just try it on one case, doc. I guarantee you’ll be impressed with how easy the process is and how satisfied your patients will be”.
Also stress that the KineMatch surgery will be easier and faster. Navigation and bone cuts cause the Mako procedure to take significantly longer. 50 minutes according to this study. Not to mention the robot setup time or dedicated technician to run the robot. Compare that to KineMatch cases, which can be completed in 30 minutes. This Lombardi surgical video is the best demonstration of how simple the procedure is: Lombardi KineMatch Patient-Matched PFR Surgical Video
I hope you find this info helpful. Remember: 15,000+ PFRs are done every year in the USA. If you aren’t promoting this product, you’re missing out on another great Kinamed product that will make you money and make your surgeons happy.
Finally, here’s a parting quote from a brand new Kinamed Agent who covered his first KineMatch PFR case last week:
“I’ve found my new favorite procedure. I’ve seen thousands of surgeries in my career and that was the most relaxed OR environment I’ve ever witnessed. Arthroplasty without any bone cutting! Make the implant match the patient instead of making the patient match the implant…what a concept!”
Let’s go get some of that!
Patrick Miller
Director of Sales, Pacific Region
Kinamed, Inc.
cell: 1-805-746-0784