Originally posted in StateCollege.com
DANVILLE — Medacta, a pure play orthopaedics company, and Geisinger, announced through a press release 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, 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.
