CASTEL SAN PIETRO, Switzerland and DANVILLE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Medacta, a high-growth, pure play orthopaedics company, and Geisinger, one of the nation’s most innovative health systems, announced today that their lifetime guarantee for total hip and knee replacement surgeries has been extended to include revision knee surgeries.
This guarantee covers revision surgeries performed for patients with previous knee replacements that have failed, even if the original surgeries were performed outside the Geisinger health system or with joints from other manufacturers. Geisinger and Medacta will stand behind the full cost of care associated with eligible revision surgeries over a patient’s lifetime, as long as they remain in the care of a Geisinger provider and are a Geisinger Health Plan member.
“Since we began this value-based journey in 2017 to provide lifetime comfort to patients around primary hips and knees, we have continued to refine and enhance our processes to enable us to take this bold step into the world of revision total joint arthroplasty—and we’ve only just begun,” said Michael Suk, M.D., J.D., chair of the Geisinger Musculoskeletal Institute.
The first revision surgery to qualify for this lifetime guarantee was performed in July for Patricia Matthews, a 64-year-old from Luzerne, Pa., who lived for five years with a knee replacement that caused her increasing pain, loss of mobility and frustration.
“I was about to give up when something wonderful happened,” Matthews said. “I had surgery in February—not related to my knee—and that surgeon asked what was wrong with my leg. I gave him a rundown, and he told me to call Geisinger Orthopaedics in Danville. That one call saved me from a life of misery.”
Orthopaedic surgeon David Maish, M.D., chief of adult reconstruction for Geisinger Medical Center, performed Matthews’s revision knee surgery on July 1, and she said from that moment, her knee felt “normal” for the first time in years.
“My knee is bending smoothly, straightening, and I can even get into the passenger side of a car,” she said. “I can't wait until I can get on a ride at an amusement park with my 5-year-old granddaughter. That was something I could never do because I couldn't bend my knee enough to fit in the seats of the rides. I am so very grateful that I made that last call.”
Implants from Medacta’s knee portfolio used in this pilot program include the GMK® Revision Knee Family, designed to preserve joint functionality without dramatically altering anatomy and kinematics, even in cases of severe ligament instability or massive bone defects. These products fall under Medacta’s Mpower Sustainability Solutions, a company initiative focused on delivering products and programs that allow surgeons and facilities to provide high quality care at a reduced cost via value-based healthcare models built to last.
“Medacta made a commitment to elevated patient service when we partnered with Geisinger to become the first orthopaedic firm to offer a lifetime guarantee of our products,” said Francesco Siccardi, chief executive officer of Medacta. “Today, we go one step further to guarantee our products used on revision knee surgeries as well. Despite the higher risk revision surgeries can pose to patients, we are steadfast in our belief that Medacta-trained surgeons using our implant technologies and state-of-the-art instrumentation deliver superior care, and revision surgeries are no exception.”
In 2018, in association with Medacta, Geisinger became the first health system to offer a lifetime guarantee for eligible total hip replacements. Earlier this year, Geisinger extended the same lifetime guarantee to eligible new knee replacement surgeries. Thanks to its renowned M.O.R.E. Institute, Medacta offers training programs for surgeons—including those at Geisinger—in surgery techniques and the use of its specially designed hip and knee implants for minimally invasive surgeries.
About Medacta
Medacta is an international company specializing in the design and production of innovative orthopaedic products and the development of accompanying surgical techniques for joint replacement, spine surgery, and sports medicine. Established in 1999 in Switzerland, Medacta’s products and surgical techniques are characterized by innovation. Medacta is a pioneer in developing new offerings on the basis of minimally invasive surgical techniques, in particular its Anterior Minimally Invasive Surgery (“AMIS”) technique for hip replacements. Medacta has leveraged its orthopaedic expertise and comprehensive understanding of the human body to develop the sophisticated “MySolutions” technology, which offers surgeons highly personalized pre-operative planning and implant placement methodologies by creating advanced personalized kinematic models and 3D planning tools for use in hip, knee, shoulder and spine procedures.
About Geisinger
Geisinger is committed to making better health easier for the more than 1.5 million consumers it serves. Founded more than 100 years ago by Abigail Geisinger, the system now includes 13 hospital campuses, a 600,000-member health plan, two research centers and the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. With 32,000 employees and 1,800 employed physicians, Geisinger boosts its hometown economies in Pennsylvania and New Jersey by billions of dollars annually. Learn more at geisinger.org or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.
