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Colorado Becomes an International Center for Non-Fusion Treatment of Severe Spine Degeneration

Posted on: Friday, 28 April 2006, 09:00 CDT

DENVER, April 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Colorado is fast becoming the prime mover for surgical innovation in non-fusion technologies for the treatment of severe spine degeneration. In a drive to advance technologies and medical procedures for patients needing restoration of the spine, world-renowned U.S. surgeon and AO Spine International Chairman Dr. Michael Janssen and Dr. Rudolf Bertagnoli, head of the German Spine-Center and Pro-Spine, the first European Center for Spine Arthroplasty, will lead surgeons in an exploratory forum in non-fusion technologies. Surgeons from Germany, China, the Netherlands, and other international medical institutions will exchange knowledge and techniques implemented in new, successful spine reconstruction and improved clinical outcomes of non-fusion technologies.

This event, sponsored by Synthes(R) Spine and presented by the Musculoskeletal Learning Center, is part of a broader effort to inform and train front-line medical professionals about non-fusion alternatives for stabilizing and preserving native biomechanics of the spine after degenerative disorders cause dysfunction, and in some cases paralysis. Denver is at the forefront for surgical bio-skills training, with the Musculoskeletal Learning Center conducting worldwide interactive educational initiatives for biomedical technology and pharmaceutical organizations and training over 800 surgeons in a year.

Degenerative disc disease is a leading cause of pain and disability in adults. Approximately 80 percent of Americans will experience an episode of significant back pain in their lifetime due to aging which causes deterioration of the biological and mechanical integrity of the spine. For many individuals, spinal disorders become a lifelong chronic condition. The morbidity associated with disc degeneration and its array of associated spinal disorders is estimated to exceed $60 billion annually due to lost wages, decreased productivity, medical costs, and rehabilitation from associated disability.

Until recently, the ultimate option available to patients suffering from chronic degeneration has been spine fusion, which "welds" together the adjacent vertebral bodies. Although spine fusion is the current gold standard for spine care, it has drawbacks in that it disrupts the biomechanics of the spine, promotes degeneration of adjacent discs, and restricts motion of the spine units. Artificial disc replacement using prosthesis is a non-fusion technology innovated by surgeons that treats spinal instability, continual degenerative processes, and spinal stenosis while maintaining the spine's natural motion, load bearing, and shock absorption.

Colorado is recognized as one of the largest biomedical innovation and technology centers in the nation, with Denver's Musculoskeletal Learning Center, one of a select few global surgical training centers accelerating biomedical solutions for highly complex spine disorders. The Center is a medical paradigm for research and education that offers a unique collaborative approach in diagnostic problem-solving and protocol care challenging surgeons from international medical institutions through bio-skills lab investigation with cadaveric dissection, advanced diagnostic interpretation, live surgical demonstration with telematic broadcast in a multimedia amphitheater, and access to bioinformatics.

"The Musculoskeletal Learning Center is a unique learning center that draws surgeons from all over the world to learn new techniques," says Janssen. "The center has an infrastructure set up that allows it to transmit surgery procedures as close as the amphitheater or as far away as Asia, which means that there is a live dialogue going on."

This educational forum, sponsored by Synthes(R) Spine and presented by the Musculoskeletal Learning Center, explores total intervertebral disc and nucleus (inner disc) replacement, facet replacement, implantation procedures, regeneration, and tissue engineering.

About the Musculoskeletal Learning Center

Founded in 2004, MLC is acknowledged as a pioneer musculoskeletal educational center for increasing knowledge of spinal disorders and the management of spine pathology, creating scientific interchange, developing forums for case studies and revolutionizing treatments of spine immobility. With a mission to support innovations developed by surgeons, researchers, and biomedical technology and pharmaceutical organizations, the center is uniquely focused on "life changing" musculoskeletal/orthopedic technologies and their implementation through interactive educational initiatives.

For further information, please contact: Cathy Ernst MindShare HDV, LLC (for the Musculoskeletal Learning Center) Phone: 720-352-2541 E-mail: cdernst@mindsharehdv.com http://www.colearningcenter.com/

This release was issued through eReleases(TM). For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com/.

Musculoskeletal Learning Center

CONTACT: Cathy Ernst, MindShare HDV, LLC (for the MusculoskeletalLearning Center), +1-720-352-2541, E-mail: cdernst@mindsharehdv.com

Web site: http://www.colearningcenter.com/

Source: PRNewswire

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