AAOS News: Arthrosurface Launches Patellofemoral WaveKahuna Arthroplasty System

Arthrosurface Inc., a developer of joint preservation technology, today announced the launch of its Patellofemoral (PF) WaveKahuna Arthroplasty System. The PF WaveKahuna implant is the next generation in Arthrosurface’s commercially-marketed line of Patellofemoral Systems. The implant is proven to improve patients’ quality of life through increased range of motion, reduced pain, faster recovery time and fewer activity restrictions.
 
The PF WaveKahuna is designed to restore the unique articular surface geometry of the Patella and the Femoral Trochlear groove while maintaining patients’ native joint anatomy. The system is a hybrid inlay-onlay design that incorporates a distal femoral trochlear groove implant that mates to a taper post via morse taper interlock. It is a larger implant than the original Arthrosurface PF Wave, combining both the dome and anatomical patella implant components.
 
“In 2006, we revolutionized the patellofemoral arthroplasty market with the launch of the PF Wave,” said Steve Ek, CEO of Arthrosurface. “Before the PF Wave, the orthopedic industry had all but given up on finding a reliable treatment for this patient segment. The PF WaveKahuna will yet again reinvent this class of arthroplasty devices by enabling surgeons to treat a substantially larger population of patients with much more complex patellofemoral pathology, using the same innovative technology that has made the PF Wave so life-changing for patients.”
 
The PF WaveKahuna is designed for use in cemented arthroplasty for patients with osteoarthritis limited to the distal patellofemoral joint, patients with a history of patellar dislocation or patellar fracture and patients with failed previous surgery where pain, deformity or dysfunction persists.
 
In a recent study of patients suffering from isolated patellofemoral osteoarthritis (OA), patellofemoral inlay arthroplasty was conducted using the Arthrosurface PF Wave implants. Data showed patients who received the PF Wave implant experienced high satisfaction and significant improvement in knee function and pain and had no radiographic progression of OA after five years. In contrast, the onlay group showed significant radiographic progression with 53 percent of patients exhibiting progression of medial and/or lateral tibiofemoral OA after two years.
 
“The new WaveKahuna implant, with its larger lateralized flange, provides full trochlear coverage and, therefore, is the perfect solution for patients suffering from extensive patellofemoral cartilage defects,” said Andreas B. Imhoff, M.D., Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology, Director/Chairman Department of Orthopaedic Sports Medicine, Hospital Rechts der Isar, University of Munich, Germany. “At the same time, the inlay design not only maintains existing biomechanics but also recreates a trochlear groove in patients with a dysplastic trochlear. So, no matter what caused the patellofemoral arthritis, the WaveKahuna implant fits nearly all of them, making it our favorite patellofemoral prosthesis.”
 
Visit the Arthrosurface Booth #3806 at the AAOS 2019 Annual Meeting, March 13-15, 2019, to learn more.