Zimmer® Trabecular Metal™ Total Ankle Introduced at 2013 AAOS Annual Meeting

CHICAGO, March 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Zimmer Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ZMH; SIX: ZMH), a global leader in musculoskeletal health, today introduced the Zimmer® Trabecular Metal™ Total Ankle, a complete ankle replacement and instrument system, at the 2013 American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons annual meeting.  The Zimmer Trabecular Metal Total Ankle is designed to restore alignment, reduce pain, and preserve the flexion and extension movement of the ankle joint.

"Maintaining harmony with the natural anatomy of the ankle was our central design concept with the Zimmer Trabecular Metal Total Ankle," said Roberto Munoz, Vice President and General Manager, Zimmer Extremities.  "This is the first ankle replacement to bring contemporary advances realized in knee and hip replacement to total ankle arthroplasty, including advanced bearing materials and anatomically-matched shapes and sizes."

The Zimmer Trabecular Metal Total Ankle consists of a talar component, a tibial base component, and a modular tibial articular surface, available in six different sizes to accommodate variations in patient anatomy.  The articulating surfaces of the implant mimic the truncated conical shape of the ankle joint and are designed to reproduce natural joint kinematics while providing joint stability.

The Zimmer Trabecular Metal Total Ankle is implanted through a lateral surgical approach, which allows for full visualization of the ankle joint with more precise implant placement.  The Zimmer Trabecular Metal Total Ankle incorporates a proprietary set of instruments, employing rigid external fixation of the anatomy to help ensure that alignment is accurately reproduced.

The modular articular surface of the Zimmer Trabecular Metal Total Ankle is manufactured with Prolong® Highly Crosslinked Polyethylene, which has over 10 years of excellent clinical history as a bearing material in total knee arthroplasty.  Due to the virtual elimination of free radicals, Prolong Polyethylene is designed to resist oxidation and reduce surface wear and subsurface fatigue.

For more information about the Zimmer Trabecular Metal Total Ankle, visit Zimmer at Booth 529 at the 2013 American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons annual meeting in Chicago, or go to www.zimmer.com.  

About the Company
Founded in 1927 and headquartered in Warsaw, Indiana, Zimmer designs, develops, manufactures and markets orthopaedic reconstructive, spinal and trauma devices, dental implants, and related surgical products.  Zimmer has operations in more than 25 countries around the world and sells products in more than 100 countries.  Zimmer's 2012 sales were approximately $4.5 billion.  The Company is supported by the efforts of more than 8,500 employees worldwide.

Zimmer Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about the orthopaedics industry, management's beliefs and assumptions made by management.  Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as "may," "will," "expects," "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "estimates," "projects," "assumes," "guides," "targets," "forecasts," and "seeks" or the negative of such terms or other variations on such terms or comparable terminology.  These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially.  For a list and description of such risks and uncertainties, see our periodic reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.  We disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be set forth in our periodic reports.  Readers of this document are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, since, while we believe the assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, there can be no assurance that these forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate.  This cautionary statement is applicable to all forward-looking statements contained in this document.

SOURCE Zimmer Holdings, Inc.