Over the past 18 months I have been working with a medical device company, Paragon 28, based in Denver, Colorado, USA. They are leaders in the field of foot and ankle surgery devices and have pioneered new technologies in this field.
I have had the privilege of being on the design team to create a new technology, the PRECISION® MIS Bunion System, which is a ‘jig’ or guide to assist in keyhole bunion surgery. It has been a fascinating and enjoyable experience to work with a highly motivated and skilled team of engineers and contribute my 11 plus years of experience in this type of surgery.
As I have been performing keyhole bunion surgery freehand, and without a guide, for the past 11 years on over 1,000 patients, my experience has allowed me to directly integrate my surgical technique including knowledge and movements, into the equipment design of the PRECISION® MIS Bunion System.
The overarching design rationale of the PRECISION® MIS Bunion System is to improve patient outcomes and this is achieved by simplifying the surgical steps that surgeons need to perform during the surgery. There are highly complex and intricate manoeuvres that the surgeon needs to perform to achieve an adequate correction and this can be difficult to learn. As a bunion is a three-dimensional deformity, each part of the deformity requires a separate movement to correct. This includes de-rotating the toe, translating the widened bone back to its original position, ensuring adequate length of the toe is maintained and preventing any abnormal tilt, elevation or depression of the corrected bone.
For surgeons, it takes at least 50 patient cases to reduce the learning curve and the time taken to perform keyhole bunion surgery to acceptable, consistent levels. This by no means, means the operation has been mastered. Even after a thousand cases, I'm still learning different nuances of the operation and continue to improve my technique.
However, the production of the PRECISION® MIS Bunion System, which is fixed to the foot, enables surgeons to perform the keyhole bunion correction technique in a much more reliable way, without the need for a long learning curve. The PRECISION® MIS Bunion System breaks down these intricate movements into individualised steps which the surgeon can sequentially address in theatre, and adjust to get the perfect correction. This reduces stress and time in the operating room and provides a more accurate means to achieve better patient outcomes.
Over the design phase, we trialled a large number of prototypes with meticulous attention to detail, to make it as easy as possible for the surgeon to perform the operation, and therefore make the operation more accessible to both new and more experienced surgeons.
As part of our launch, I have been travelling to a number of different USA states to teach and train both for surgeons and salesforce. This has enabled me to meet a whole range of different people dedicated to improving outcomes in Foot and Ankle surgery and it has been great not only teaching and imparting knowledge, but also furthering my own knowledge.
The PRECISION® MIS Bunion System is only available in the USA at present, so I am unable to use the guide on my patients in the UK. We hope to confirm a UK launch date in early 2025, where surgeons in this country will be able to access the technology to perform keyhole bunion surgery on their patients with improved accuracy and better patient outcomes.
For more information, please visit https://paragon28.com/launch-of-precision-mis-bunion-system/