CHICAGO, Ill. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — A new device the size of a bandage is allowing orthopedic surgeons to close wounds safely and quickly, with better cosmetic results. And perhaps the biggest advantage for patients during this pandemic— they can remove the closure themselves, without having to head back to the doctor’s office.
Kelly Maday had finished her final collegiate season of soccer when a chronic knee condition caught up with her.
Maday shared with Ivanhoe, “I just woke up one day, my knee didn’t feel right. It was swollen, in a lot of pain, locking, catching.”
This was the third time the 21-year-old athlete needed surgery. But this time, when orthopedic surgeon Brian Cole did the repair, he had a new tool at his disposal to close the wound. Dr. Cole used this water-resistant device called the BandGrip.
“It’s a stretchable, clear, adhesive bandage that has micro-anchors that actually will stick into the skin,” explained Dr. Brian Cole, MD Orthopedic Surgeon at Midwest Orthopedics at Rush and Professor in the Department of Orthopedics at Rush University Medical Center.
The BandGrip is designed to work for up to 15 days. Lauren Deegan loves to be active, but a torn ACL put her on the sidelines. COVID-19 was ramping up just as she went in for ACL repair.
“It was the very last day in Chicago that they allowed elective surgeries,” Deegan recalled.
Two weeks later, Dr. Cole used telemedicine instead of a post-op visit to coach Lauren through removing the BandGrip herself.
Lauren was happy, too. The wound sealed with BandGrip is on the left. A previous ACL surgery on her other knee, seen here, was closed with sutures. Kelly Maday also removed her own BandGrip, two weeks after surgery.
Maday explained, “It felt just slightly more painful than taking off a band-aid I would say.”
Technology helping patients help themselves, from home, during this pandemic. BandGrip is a class one medical device, registered with the Food and Drug Administration.
Contributors to this news report include: Cyndy McGrath, Executive & Field Producer; Roque Correa, Editor.
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MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS
RESEARCH SUMMARY
TOPIC: BANDGRIP: DIY REMOVAL AND SKIP THE DOCTOR’S OFFICE
REPORT: MB #4745
BACKGROUND: Musculoskeletal conditions and pain can affect a person at any age. From scoliosis to traumatic injuries requiring surgery, a person can benefit from an orthopedic surgeon. Orthopedic surgeons are dedicated to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disorders of the bones, joints, ligaments, tendons and muscles. Some orthopedists have specialties in areas of the body like hip and knee, foot and ankle, shoulder and elbow, hand, or spine. They treat conditions that include sports injuries and joint replacement, fractures and spinal deformity.
(Source: https://www7.aaos.org/member/directory/definition.htm)
NEW DEVICE LOWERS RECOVERY TIME: Orthopedic surgeons are expected to perform more than 6.6 million procedures during 2020, and surgeons are always looking at ways to reduce closure time and improve movement. A new device, known as BandGrip, is a bandage that offers a non-invasive method of wound closure without the use of needles or staples. It uses micro-anchors that grip the skin gently and securely to pull wound edges together and reduces wound closure time by more than 30%. “COVID-19 is changing our wound closure protocol, and BandGrip has the solution,” said Orthopedic Sports Medicine Surgeon Brian Cole, MD, MBA, managing partner at Midwest Orthopedics at Rush and Associate Chairman and Professor, Department of Orthopedics at Rush University. “Patients are able to remove the adhesive wound closure bandage from home, a little more than a week following surgery. Through telemedicine, we’re able to check-in and see how the surgical incision is healing. This has become the new standard of care in my practice.”
(Source: https://ortoday.com/bandgrip-joins-forces-with-medline/)
NEW TREATMENTS FOR ORTHOPEDIC CONDITIONS: Orthobiologic therapy, also known as regenerative medicine, uses the body’s natural properties to initiate a healing response. This type of therapy essentially helps ease pain and improve function and can impact people with both acute and chronic orthopedic conditions. There are two main options: platelet-rich plasma and bone marrow aspirate concentrate. The platelet-rich plasma option uses “our own blood platelets to initiate and modulate an inflammatory/recovery process through the use of growth factors and chemical signals released by the platelets,” says Dr. Ryan Woods of Orthopedics & Sports Medicine BayCare Clinic in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The bone marrow aspirate concentrate option is considered “a true cell-based therapy,” Woods says. Each procedure is done in the office under local anesthesia, is ultrasound-guided, and takes between one and two hours.
(Source: https://www.baycare.net/newsroom/new-orthobiologic-treatments-for-orthopedic-conditions/)
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS REPORT, PLEASE CONTACT:
LESLY MARBAN, MEDIA RELATIONS
If this story or any other Ivanhoe story has impacted your life or prompted you or someone you know to seek or change treatments, please let us know by contacting Marjorie Bekaert Thomas at mthomas@ivanhoe.com
