NYU-Developed Technology for Hip Replacement in Young People Spreads to Japan

Over the past 18 months, the orthopaedic literature has reported that the Lateral Flare®--a device invented as a result of research by NYU Medical Center investigators—is a successful option for younger individuals undergoing hip replacement. The Lateral Flare stem owes this success to its effectiveness in distributing weight evenly to the adjoining femur (thigh bone), and its consequent ability to minimize bone atrophy over time and thereby preserve up to 95% of a patient’s native bone.

Japan’s high prevalence of congenital hip dysplasia makes the possibility of such a lifetime solution particularly important, since young people born with this condition would otherwise face the need for multiple revisions of their original hip replacement over time. 

Orthopaedic surgeons at the Nagoya City University Medical Center have now adapted the Lateral Flare device to accommodate the anatomic differences encountered in the Japanese population. The anatomy of the Japanese population generally requires that the stems currently available be scaled down to include sizes which accommodate smaller femurs. They plan to announce this achievement at a major Japanese Orthopaedic Society conference they are hosting in July 2007. The conference will highlight the ongoing collaboration of Nagoya and NYU, as well as Japan’s independent research and clinical validation of NYU’s technology.

In the 1980s, Joseph Fetto, M.D., Clinical Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, led a team investigating the functioning of the hip in amputee patients, resulting in new information on how body weight influences the functioning of the femur and how the surrounding muscles and ligaments create tension. The Lateral Flare was developed as a result of that research and has since become an important alternative or total hip replacement in younger populations. The device is now licensed by Encore Medical, L.P. It is the unique intellectual property of NYU School of Medicine and provides a source of research support for the School.

For more information on the Lateral Flare stem, as well as the collaboration with Nagoya City University Medical Center, contact Dr. Joseph Fetto, (212) 263-7296 or visit www.med.nyu.edu/lateralflare.