Zimmer Updates Spine Implant System

Minneapolis, Minn.-based Zimmer Spine has released the Zimmer DTO 5.5 system, an updated version of the company’s original DTO implant that received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval in 2007. New implants and instruments have been added to the system, which is part of the Dynesys product family, so that the Dynesys dynamic stabilization system can be used with the company’s Sequoia pedicle screw system and Instinct Java spinal fixation system. According to Zimmer, the DTO 5.5 system enables clinicians to treat varying levels of disc degeneration at adjacent levels, integrating fusion and non-fusion treatments through a single construct.

The Dynesys system is a pedicle-screw fixation system—an implant device consisting of a spacer, cord and pedicle screw. It offers an approach to stabilization and mobilization of the spine and pain relief that relies on flexible materials and is purported to preserve much of the spinal anatomy. Dynesys can be used in skeletally mature patients to provide immobilization and stabilization of spinal segments. It is used as an adjunct to fusion to treat degenerative slipped discs (spondylolisthesis) in the thoracic, lumbar or sacral regions when there is evidence of resulting neurologic impairment or in the case of a previous failed fusion (pseudarthrosis).

The DTO 5.5 implant is so named because of the new 5.5 mm titanium rod, which is combined with a 100 mm polyethylene-terephthalate cord that can be contoured to match patient anatomy, according to the company.

“Many patients present with differing levels of disc degeneration at adjacent segments of the lumbar spine,” said Steve Healy, president of Zimmer Spine. “This makes it challenging for clinicians to effectively treat the entire pathology without the flexibility of combining fusion and non-fusion approaches.”

The new DTO system reportedly provides stabilization at levels adjacent to fusion while preserving contiguous segment anatomy and restoring posterior disc height. This is possible because the system offers the capability for transition from fusion to non-fusion within a single implant. According to the company, the DTO 5.5 streamlines reduction and compression capabilities that enable the treatment of a broad range of pathologies at contiguous levels, depending on patient need and clinician preference.

Zimmer Spine is a division of Zimmer Holdings Inc. based in Warsaw, Ind.