“Female” knee implants sell, but draw skepticism
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Debate about whether an artificial knee implant designed specifically for women has scientific merit continues a year after the device was launched, even as the orthopedics manufacturer racks up better-than-expected sales.
Many orthopedic surgeons say Zimmer Holdings’ female knee is a marketing gimmick, but admit that they will implant them on request.
“I don’t want to have an argument with the patient over it,” said one orthopedist who asked not to be named, noting that the female knee is about twice the price.
Raymond Elliott, Zimmer’s chairman and chief executive, said the female knee, called Gender Solutions, has been a bigger success than he had hoped, fueling a 23 percent increase in the company’s earnings in the fourth quarter.
Zimmer says its female knee implant—shaped more like a woman’s knee, as well as usually but not always smaller than a man’s—fits better and therefore functions better.
“The issue is shape. There are a lot of women who are bigger than men,” Elliott said.
The Warsaw, Indiana, company, the largest maker of reconstructive joints, is poised to roll out a new female hip by year end. Elliott declined to provide sales projections, but said he expects similar success.
“It’s good marketing. That’s not a sin, is it? It’s supported by science,” Elliott said in an interview during the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons meeting in San Diego.
Women receive around 60 percent of all knee implants, and because they live longer and are more likely to become obese than men, they are expected to continue to drive the implant business.
Zimmer isn’t the only company marketing to women. Stryker Corp. launched its Triathlon knee two years ago and has marketed it to women because it is smaller than its other knee implants, but the company has said that it is appropriate for smaller men, as well.
Others in the industry remain divided on the approach. Smith & Nephew, Britain’s biggest orthopedic device maker, will not be making or marketing a knee to women, according to vice president for global marketing Todd Durniak.
“We will keep our discussions toward function and outcome for the patient. We’d rather market that” than gender, he said at the meeting.
Wright Medical, for its part, is awaiting FDA approval for a stature-specific knee, based on a person’s size.
Dr. Arnold Scheller, an orthopedist who recently got a knee implant himself, said the key to a successful operation is fit.
“With knee replacements, longevity is a function of how well it fits,” said Scheller, who specializes in sports medicine and was chief medical officer for the NBA’s Boston Celtics for 20 years.
“The more sizes a company offers, the better. When people talk about gender, they’re talking about size. Call it gender specific and you get a buzz about it,” he said.
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