Dr. F. Stockmans, One of the Earliest Proponents of Materialise's Surgicase(R) Orthopaedics, States the Case for its Vital Role in the Treatment of Distal Radius Malunions at ASSH 2010

BOSTON, October 15, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Attendees at this year's annual meeting of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) received pre-conference analysis of the advantages of Materialise's SurgiCase(R) Orthopaedics service for treating distal radius malunions. The speaker was renowned hand surgeon Dr. F. Stockmans. He's also one of the first to integrate SurgiCase(R) into his practice as a solution for patients with exceptional needs.

It's been five years since Dr. Stockmans recognized how valuable SurgiCase(R) is to hand and wrist surgeons faced with challenging surgeries: malunions, non-unions or some instances of congenital deformity. The comprehensive service, which centers on the use of CT/MRI scanned images, consists of three components: virtual surgery planning, the generation of 3D patient models, and the construction of cut and drill guides custom-fit to the patient. It gives the surgeon the capability to try multiple approaches to complicated procedures before entering the operation room. Working together, these components help the surgeon repair complex 3D deformations that would otherwise be impossible to treat using conventional 2D techniques.

Dr. Stockmans has published his successful case histories in the latest issue of Orthopreneur. About SurgiCase(R) increased visibility, he says: "After five years of preparatory studies, I'm thrilled that SurgiCase(R) Orthopaedics is finally being introduced to the surgical community. The possibility of visualizing the pathology in 3D and trying different approaches prior to going into surgery is tremendous. Individualized cut and drill guides have helped me shorten the intervention period, enabling me to treat more cases in the same amount of time. The engineers at Materialise are very professional. I feel much more confident going into the OR."

Materialise launched SurgiCase(R) Orthopaedics in the United States at the ASSH. With the development of its SurgiCase(R) cut and drill guides, Materialise will take a huge step towards putting custom tools into the hands of hand and wrist surgeons.

http://www.materialise.com/orthopaedics

SOURCE Materialise