WITTENSTEIN SE
WITTENSTEIN SE
10/09/2017

Exchange of scientific experiences at the 8th FITBONE® User Meeting in Stockholm

The 8th FITBONE® User Meeting, attended by about 40 people from 9 countries worldwide, was held in Stockholm from September 21 to 23, 2017. Members of the international COE (Center of Excellence) network, comprised of specially trained experts in the field of extremity surgery, got together for an exchange of scientific experiences on FITBONE®, the fully implantable, intramedullary lengthening nail. They took advantage of this unique opportunity to keep abreast of the latest treatment options available as well as recent technological advances and surgical techniques in a series of presentations and discussion forums.

The User Meeting is an annual event which takes place at a different international location each year. This year’s Meeting was organized by WITTENSTEIN intens GmbH, Igersheim, in cooperation with the Swedish FITBONE® Center of Excellence in Stockholm.

Experts share their longstanding experience
The COE network is comprised of qualified experts, who must demonstrate a proven track record and the will to play a leading role when it comes to lengthening extremities and correcting deformities,” explains Roman Stauch, Managing Director of WITTENSTEIN intens. “Without this exchange of ideas and experiences we’d risk standing still – which is why we’re more than pleased to have contributions from such eminent specialists time and time again in the framework of our FITBONE® User Meetings”, he adds. Stauch is referring to the various speakers who traveled to Stockholm to discuss the pros and cons of growing prostheses and preoperative planning methods, for example, and share scientific insights.

Practical examples
Axial and torsional corrections represent the main applications for the FITBONE® intramedullary lengthening system, which is operated using an external control set with a multiple feedback function. The implant is handy, controllable and reliable with perfect cosmetic results. Solutions for the minimally invasive procedure must also be found in highly unorthodox cases. Several practical examples illustrating particularly complicated instances of extremity corrections were therefore described and discussed at the 8th FITBONE® User Meeting. At an interactive planning workshop, Professor R. Baumgart, Director of the Center for Corrective and Reconstructive Surgery of Extremities (ZEM) Germany in Munich, treated participants to a lively and practically relevant introduction to the Reverse Planning Method (RPM). An award in recognition of his vast experience was bestowed on him at the User Meeting.

Photo:
1. The FITBONE® intramedullary lengthening nail from WITTENSTEIN intens is only implanted by specially trained surgeons