Founder’s Facts: Patient Selection

Hear what BioPoly Founder, Herb Schwartz has to say about patient selection for the BioPoly Great and Lesser Toe Implants.

The BioPoly® Great and Lesser Toe Implants have been carefully designed to withstand the high loads that the metatarsal-phalangeal joints experience in daily activities. From the BioPoly articulating surface, which has been optimized for cartilage articulation, to the porous metal fixation that has been engineered to allow robust boney ingrowth, the BioPoly® Great and Lesser Toe implants are exactly what are needed to replace the cartilage defects found in metatarsal (great and lesser) heads. When the appropriate patient receives one of our implants, the clinical outcomes can be very positive as the BioPoly® implant glides smoothly across the opposing cartilage and the porous titanium stem becomes permanently affixed to the patient’s bone.

However, important patient selection factors need to be present for clinical success:

· BioPoly has been optimized for cartilage articulation: Patients should have cartilage on the proximal phalangeal surface and not have exposed bone. Also, all osteophytes on the proximal phalanx surfaces should be removed.

· Long-term fixation is crucial: The patient’s metatarsal bone should be robust enough to retain the implant and to allow bone to heal.

· Accommodating tight joints: When selecting a patient with a joint is tight, the surgeon should consider further decompression which is easily accomplished with our specially-designed cut guide.