So, just how good can a custom-made Conformis knee actually be?…
I’ve been doing Conformis custom-made knee replacements since 2012 now, and was the first surgeon in the UK to implant a Conformis prosthesis. Our practice is now a Surgical Visitation Centre for Conformis, and we have a steady flow of surgeons from across the UK coming to join me in theatre to learn the specific techniques for implanting Conformis prostheses.
But just how good are they, really?…
The proof is always in the pudding — and for us, ‘the pudding’ means proper clinical audit, national registries and prospective research projects …. there’s now increasingly convincing evidence that Conformis knees are indeed the very best knees available, with:
- 95% patient satisfaction rates, compared to just 80 to 85% with a standard ‘off-the-shelf’ knee (and you shouldn’t see that as an approximately 10% improvement in satisfaction rates — it’s actually a 2/3 reduction (15% down to just 5%) in unhappy patients, which is massive! – https://www.conformis.com/uploads/2017/08/MK-03001-AA_Hospital-Patient-Outcomes-Katthagen-WAC-2015-2.pdf
- 3A rating from ODEP: https://www.conformis.com/about-conformis/news/four-year-data-from-the-uk-national-joint-registry-highlights-high-survivorship-in-patients-treated-with-the-conformis-itotal-cr/
- The latest reports from the Beyond Compliance register showing a 60% reduction in early revision rates with the Conformis knee compared to the ‘average’ knee on their register: https://www.conformis.com/surgeon-resource-center/resource/beyond-compliance-implant-summary-report-itotal-cr/
The question is, what does this actually equate to and look like in real life?….
Here’s just a few answers! ….
This is Peter at just 3 days post-op after his right knee Conformis iTotal-CR custom-made total knee replacement surgery by Ian McDermott at The London Bridge Hospital:
This is Julie at just 6 weeks post-op after her left knee Conformis iTotal-PS knee replacement surgery:
This is Lady Joan 3 months after her right knee Conformis iTotal-CR knee replacement surgery:
[Please note, however, that we do not normally tend to advise people to run around on slippery rocks by the seaside after knee replacement surgery! … but well done, Lady Joan!!]
Sadly, there is still only a small number of surgeons in the UK who are performing custom-made Conformis knee replacement surgery, and even fewer who have done significant numbers of cases. The relatively small additional cost of a custom-made knee replacement actually equates to a very significant improvement in outcomes — and with time we believe that the cost:benefit analysis will show that in the longer-term it’s actually cheaper to put in a best possible prosthesis rather than just the cheapest one.
If you’d like to learn more about Conformis custom-made knees then please CLICK HERE or just get in touch….