Zimmer Biomet Launches Vanguard Individualized Design Knee Replacement

Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc., a provider of musculoskeletal healthcare, has announced the launch of Vanguard Individualized Design (ID), a first-of-its-kind total knee arthroplasty (TKA) construct designed to enable a personalized fit while simplifying soft tissue preservation and balance. Traditional total knee implants feature a one-piece bearing constructed of polyethylene which is placed between the metal portions of the implant. Vanguard ID is the only TKA design to incorporate two individual polyethylene bearings with different articulations on the medial and lateral sides. The Vanguard ID’s flexible design allows surgeons to mix and match bearings of differing thickness and geometry, ensuring they can personalize their approach to accommodate and preserve natural soft tissue. 
 
“I believe that our newly released Vanguard Individualized Design will revolutionize total knee replacement. With the ability to fine tune the knee’s balance through the use of independent medial and lateral bearing thickness and constraint options, we will arm the surgeon with the ultimate soft tissue respecting capability,” said Todd Davis, vice president and general manager of the global Knee business.
 
The original Vanguard Knee system, which debuted in 2003, pioneered personalization in knee replacement by offering the broadest range of available sizes. By equipping surgeons to combine a vast number of bearings of varying thickness (up to 2 mm) and articulations to ensure a personalized feel, the Vanguard ID builds on the Vanguard knee’s legacy of enabling surgeons to create a personalized fit, while maintaining surgical simplicity and intraoperative flexibility. 
 
“Maintaining natural ligament tension while preserving healthy soft tissue is critical not only to restore normal range of motion but to achieve patient satisfaction,” said Tom Aleto, M.D. (Missouri Orthopedic Institute, Columbia, Missouri). “In traditional knee design, surgeons typically release healthy soft tissues in an attempt to balance the knee and maintain feasible kinematics. Because the Vanguard ID allows me to mix and match components, I am able to individually treat each compartment while maintaining healthy soft tissues. I personally feel that, by utilizing Vanguard ID and a soft tissue respecting surgical technique, I’m achieving higher patient satisfaction.”