CLEARWATER, Fla., June 19 /PRNewswire/ -- With an estimated 30 million Americans suffering from back problems this year, Clearwater-based minSURG(TM) Corporation marked its first year of entering the market to provide minimally invasive back pain alternatives.
The invention, called TruFUSE(TM), uses two small cork-shaped dowels, called allografts, made from human bone, to stop painful spinal facet joints from moving. The dowels are inserted with minimally invasive, minimally destructive techniques between facet joints in the back to stop movement and pain. The TruFUSE technique is one of the first intermediate surgical options filling the large void between traditional non-surgical pain management and major surgery.
Inventor Dr. David Petersen, M.D., FAAOS said, “I was motivated to find a minimally invasive surgical solution for my own back problems that would not require me to take months away from my practice. After years of refinement, research and development, TruFUSE took shape and today is a reality.” minSURG’s parent company, Orthopedic Development Corporation, began work on TruFUSE in 2003.
Palm Harbor resident, Virginia Bland, suffered from years of chronic back pain so severe she could not bend over without excruciating pain. “After many different major spine surgery consultations, I scheduled a TruFUSE procedure in May 2006. The surgery resulted with no screws and four fairly small incisions. I feel I have a new lease on life. For me, it was a miracle.”
TruFUSE has been used on selected patients since January 2005, and went into limited distribution in August 2006. TruFUSE is enjoying increasing acceptance within the medical and surgical community. The company has shipped over 1,500 units to date. Each unit fuses one vertebra.
With low back pain second in frequency only to the common cold, facet joint disorders are among the most common of all the recurrent disabling low back problems that cause serious symptoms. The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons reports that the most commonly performed operation for back pain has been spinal fusion. Approximately two million fusion procedures have been performed since 1990, and according to National Institutes of Health statistics, an estimate of over one million lumbar fusions could be performed in 2007 in the United States alone.
MinSURG CEO, James Doulgeris said, “TruFUSE represents a new, intermediate surgical option for many back pain sufferers who do not yet qualify for major surgery. It may be used to treat a variety of back problems, including augmentation of other procedures for any location from C2-C3 to L5-S1. Compared to many existing methods, TruFUSE is generally less invasive, less destructive, less complicated, less expensive and subjects the patients to relatively minimal risk.”
For more information on TruFUSE, please visit the Web site at www.trufuse.com or call (813) 318-0565 ext. 216.
MinSURG
CONTACT: Eric Polins, of HCP & Associates, Inc., +1-813-318-0565 ext. 216,epolins@hcpassociates.com, for MinSURG
Web site: http://www.trufuse.com/