A panel session at ACS Clinical Congress 2019 examines the evidence behind currently proposed techniques to prevent incisional hernias after midline laparotomy closure, including the use of prophylactic mesh and small-bite 4:1 suture closure.

At the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress 2019, there was an important session in which panelists discussed the advantages and disadvantages of using prophylactic mesh after closure of midline laparotomies to prevent incisional hernias. Ajita Prabhu, MD and Benjamin Poulose, MD moderated the panel session on October 28, 2019.

Heidi Miller, MD of University of New Mexico gave background on risk factors for incisional hernias, which she estimated at 12-13% incidence after closure of a laparotomy. She characterized incisional hernias as “mostly due to technical failures,” including poor wound hemostasis or coagulopathy, too much inflammation of the wound and the associated abnormal collagen structure, and sutures without proper tension. With respect to the latter topic, she described how she likes to view the hernia as a chronic wound, with proliferation and remodeling dependent on proper tension of approximation. She also described modifiable risk factors associated with the patient. Smoking and diabetes affect tissue perfusion, with strong data supporting tissue ischemia associated with smoking. Tissue perfusion greatly affects wound healing, as do modifiable factors that affect inflammation, including proper wound care, nutrition (especially vitamin A intake) and obesity, which is associated with chronic inflammation. Additionally, obesity is also associated with increased risk of wound dehiscence and increased mechanical stress tending to open the wound ...

SmartTRAK is pleased to welcome Anikó Szekér, the newest addition to our Wound Care team. Anikó has 10+ years of medical device experience in Wound Care and Surgical single use products. Before joining SmartTRAK, Anikó was  Marketing Manager, Eastern Europe Wound Care and Surgical at Mölnlycke Health Care.

Location: Northeast region of US (NY, NJ, MA, PA)

Full-time Position

Position:

BioMedGPS, a leading strategic advisory and healthcare analytics firm serving the life sciences industry, is seeking a Director of Enterprise Sales with extensive healthcare B2B experience for its SmartTRAK Business Intelligence platform and related products. Applicant must reside in the Northeastern region of the USA for easy access to major accounts.

SmartTRAK is the first business intelligence portal that provides real time data, analytics and curated content by a team of industry experts to help medical device executives make more informed strategic decisions. SmartTRAK is utilized by leading medical device companies within the orthopedic, wound care, regenerative medicine and neuro therapeutic areas. The Director of Sales will be responsible for selling SmartTRAK’s suite of business intelligence solutions to C- suite and other senior level executives, as well as building long term strategic programs and relationships at all levels of the enterprise.

The US market for Hemostats and Sealants grew +5.6% YoY in Q319, a continued deceleration from +6.4% YoY in Q219, with fibrin sealants and absorbable hemostats driving the increase.

As reported in SmartTRAK’s Financial Dashboard, every manufacturer in the Hemostats and Sealants market experienced revenue growth in Q319. Leading the way was Becton Dickinson (BD), with Integra, Ethicon and Baxter all posting strong gains. The US Hemostats and Sealants market was up +5.6% YoY with all competitors posting gains for the quarter. Sealants continued their solid growth, up +6.5% YoY, with fibrin sealants leading the way. Absorbable hemostats resumed their leadership, contributing to the +5.1% YoY growth to...

Among the many topics covered in the complete, comprehensiveQ319 US Hemostats and Sealants Market Recap* are:

Positive gains in the mid-single digits for Q319, a slight decrease from previous quarter

Prevention of HAIs continues to drive measures and practices to reduce Central Line Associated Bloodstream Infections (CLABSIs) and is creating demand for products that can address these issues. In response, numerous programs and educational tools are being launched providing measures and strategies to assist healthcare providers in the prevention and reduction of infection in acute care and other settings.

Last quarter, a coalition of nurses and the AVA launched a drive to support a safety initiative for placing vascular access specialists in every hospital across America. This theme continued at this year’s AVA conference with the mission statement of “Protect the Patient, Educate the Clinician and Save the Line” highlighting the overall focus for the event. Acknowledgment of the importance of the vascular access nurse and team were featured in numerous studies and presentations demonstrating the value of the vascular access team in practice...

Among the many topics covered in the complete, comprehensive Q319 US Infection Prevention Market Recap* are:

Another quarter of strong growth, but slower growth clouds building up on the horizon here and there. Both Smith+Nephew and ConvaTec have newly appointed CEOs.

For Q319, according to SmartTRAK’s Financial Dashboard, WW Advanced Wound Care (AWC) revenue for Advanced Dressings, External Devices and Biologics was up +5.9% YoY.

Acelity remained the WW AWC market leader, up +6.3% YoY, driven by  Prevena and the Crawford acquisition. WW Advanced Dressings saw several strong shifts in the ranking of companies, with ConvaTec moving up to the 2nd position, surpassing Smith + Nephew (S+N), after ConvaTec recovering, but S+N facing continued declining growth. Mölnlycke led the market and Coloplast was the strongest growing of the top four. The total market was up +3.2% YoY. US Skin/Dermal Substitute (CTP) revenue increased, with xenografts, especially  Organogenesis’  PuraPly, driving gains. WW NPWT was up  +8.2% YoY, with traditional devices up +3.4% and single-use...

Among the many topics covered in the complete, comprehensive Q319 Advanced Wound Care Market Recap* are:

The US Surgical Matrices Market grew tepidly in Q319,  up +1.2% YoY,  down from its +3.5% growth in Q219. 

The overall US Surgical Matrices market had minimal growth for the quarter at +1.2% YoY, a decline from Q219. The Breast segment contracted -1.5% YoY and a 34.7% share of the entire Surgical Matrices market. The Hernia Repair market continued its modest growth at +2.6% YoY and a 65.3% share of the US Surgical Matrices Market in Q319.

In Q319, Allergan’s hold on the Breast Matrices segment slipped further due to supply chain issues with its AlloDerm ADM, but the Company maintained its leadership of the Surgical Matrices market a 32.3% share. BD continued its growth in their biosynthetic hernia matrices business and maintained No. 2 market position, with revenues of ...

Whether you are a patient, a provider or product manufacturer it’s difficult to make it through the day without being reminded that healthcare is expensive. Many patients see it in their rising premiums, copays and deductibles. Providers feel it when their reimbursement gets cut or is capped, and product manufacturers experience it when they hear, “it’s too expensive.”

I’ll be the first to admit that I am not a New England Patriots fan. As a matter of fact I get rather irritated when they win year after year. Nevertheless, it’s hard to not appreciate the spirit of teamwork that has propelled the Patriots organization to win six Super Bowl titles. As we know, teamwork does not suggest the absence of conflict; however, it does express the willingness of a group of people, with individual talents, to work together to achieve a goal. Teamwork between clinicians, policy representatives and product manufacturers is crucial to winning the battle of healing wounds, salvaging limbs and saving lives. Three key takeaways from Day 2 of Desert Foot 2019 lend support to this point.

Clinical thought-leaders and product developers convened in the heart of downtown Phoenix, Arizona at Desert Foot 2019 to share knowledge and showcase innovative technologies that aim to improve the quality of life of patients with lower extremity disorders. As a demonstration of the eagerness and commitment to share knowledge, Day 1 began bright and early at 6:00 am with a session highlighting cases in limb preservation and ended at 6:45 pm with a session questioning if there was a resurgence in amputations in patients with diabetic foot. Whether planned or not, this was a thoughtful way to bookend the day by emphasizing the potential good and bad outcomes of this vulnerable patient population...