New knee implant is changing the way patients and surgeons view revision hinged knee replacement

Smith & Nephew (NYSE:SNN;LSE:SN), the global medical technology business, today announced the launch of its LEGION ^◊ HK Hinge Knee implant to surgeons in the US and Canada. As the first hinged knee to be designed using normal knee kinematics, the implant provides a new option for those patients facing difficult primary or revision knee surgery.

“This signals a real change in the hinge knee landscape,” explains Gaurav Agarwal, DSVP and General Manager for Smith & Nephew's Advanced Surgical Devices division. “With this implant, we are not only simplifying the procedure, we are transforming these complex surgeries from salvage operations to true joint-rescue procedures.”

For patients, the LEGION HK Hinge Knee has been designed to closely match the knee's original anatomy while also restoring more normal function, thanks to next-generation rotating knee technology. In fact, the design of the implant provides a more natural range of motion ^1,4 while maintaining an average of 96% condylar loading—a design feature shown to remove the stresses from the hinge link for lower wear on the hinge device. ²

For surgeons, the LEGION HK Hinge Knee offers simplicity and familiarity. An extension of the clinically successful LEGION Total Knee System, the LEGION HK allows surgeons to seamlessly transition intraoperatively from a constrained revision implant to a hinged assembly, thus using a minimal number of instruments and the same simple, reproducible surgical technique they already know.

"The LEGION HK system is a significant leap forward in treating complex knee revision surgery,” says Dr. Kris Alden, Director of Joint Replacement at West Suburban Hospital in Chicago. “Its kinematic and bone sparing design not only alleviates my patients' symptoms, but also restores an almost natural knee function. Couple that with its ease of use, and it has greatly aided my practice when treating significant bone and ligamentous deficiencies.”

A hinged knee replacement is an implant system in which the three components (the upper, the lower and the plastic liner) of the implant are joined together with a hinged mechanism. Typically, this type of knee replacement is used when a knee is highly unstable and the patient's ligaments will not provide the support necessary for the more common type of knee implant.

The LEGION Total Knee System has over 15 years of clinical history and continues to achieve outstanding clinical results. ³ Since the system's launch, there have been over 1 million primary and revision knees implanted worldwide.

Enquiries

About Smith & Nephew

Smith & Nephew is a global medical technology business dedicated to helping improve people's lives. With leadership positions in Orthopaedic Reconstruction, Advanced Wound Management, Sports Medicine and Trauma, Smith & Nephew has almost 11,000 employees and a presence in more than 90 countries. Annual sales in 2011 were nearly $4.3 billion. Smith & Nephew is a member of the FTSE100 (LSE: SN, NYSE: SNN).

Forward-looking Statements

This document may contain forward-looking statements that may or may not prove accurate. For example, statements regarding expected revenue growth and trading margins, market trends and our product pipeline are forward-looking statements. Phrases such as "aim", "plan", "intend", "anticipate", "well-placed", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target", "consider" and similar expressions are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from what is expressed or implied by the statements. For Smith & Nephew, these factors include: economic and financial conditions in the markets we serve, especially those affecting health care providers, payors and customers; price levels for established and innovative medical devices; developments in medical technology; regulatory approvals, reimbursement decisions or other government actions; product defects or recalls; litigation relating to patent or other claims; legal compliance risks and related investigative, remedial or enforcement actions; strategic actions, including acquisitions and dispositions, our success in integrating acquired businesses, and disruption that may result from changes we make in our business plans or organisation to adapt to market developments; and numerous other matters that affect us or our markets, including those of a political, economic, business or competitive nature. Please refer to the documents that Smith & Nephew has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including Smith & Nephew's most recent annual report on Form 20-F, for a discussion of certain of these factors.

Any forward-looking statement is based on information available to Smith & Nephew as of the date of the statement. All written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to Smith & Nephew are qualified by this caution. Smith & Nephew does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in circumstances or in Smith & Nephew's expectations.

^◊ Trademark of Smith & Nephew. Registered US Patent and Trademark Office.