Optetrak® Knee

The design behind the Optetrak® comprehensive knee system has been evolving for more than 34 years. Its lineage began with a concept developed at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, one of the world’s leading orthopaedic research and treatment institutions. A team of surgeons and biomedical engineers built on the foundation of this solid design, progressively improving the implants and instrumentation over the past three decades. Today, surgeons around the world are documenting excellent results with this carefully evolved implant.^1,2

Sure, there are plenty of choices out there and new knee systems are being introduced every day. But there’s nothing like the confidence that comes from the test of time. With Optetrak, you have the best of both worlds—a proven design foundation, enhanced by today’s most modern technical and surgical technologies.

How Will It Feel?

Having a knee replaced after months or years of suffering from arthritis should allow you to enjoy reduced pain and improved mobility.³

A key factor in the way a knee implant feels is the way the knee cap (patella) moves when you bend your knee. From the earliest knee designs, surgeons have struggled to re-create the correct patellar tracking and limb alignment to ensure you have a comfortable, natural feel and function.

Optetrak’s contoured femoral component with its deep groove is a feature designed to reduce strain on the surrounding ligaments. This allows for more natural patellar tracking as you bend or straighten your knee. If the femoral groove is too shallow, the patella can ride up unnaturally on the edges of the implant–or even dislocate.

The Optetrak system includes streamlined, modern surgical instrumentation so your surgery can be as quick and efficient as possible. Its Low Profile Instrumentation™ provides options for alternative surgical approaches such as reduced incision size (if appropriate for your unique situation), which can minimize your hospital stay and allow for the speediest possible recovery.

How Does It Work?

After successful surgery, you will be eager to return to many of the activities you enjoy. Going for walks, golfing, boating, biking and playing with children are usually realistic expectations. Each of these activities is dependent upon your ability to comfortably bend and straighten your knee. The degree to which you can perform this movement is defined as your range of motion.

To provide for the highest degrees of flexion (bending), some implants require that a considerable amount of bone be removed to accommodate a thick implant. By contrast, Optetrak was designed to achieve a high degree of flexion while at the same time preserving as much of your natural bone as possible.

How Long Will It Last?

Two main drivers affect the longevity of knee implants: design and materials.

Just like your natural knee, the components of a knee implant are also subject to wear from friction caused by bending, straightening and supporting weight. The shape of knee implant components—particularly the parts that slide against each other—is very important to ensure the least possible amount of friction. The Optetrak knee features a number of patented, proven design features that reduce the amount of friction and stress on each component.⁴

One part of a knee system that is subject to wear is the place where the femoral and the tibial components meet . Other knee systems, particularly those now being touted as gender-specific or female knees, feature a flatter shape in this important part of the joint. When weight is placed unevenly, as often happens with normal activities of daily living, a high level of pressure may be exerted on the edge of the joint. This can lead to pain as well as excessive wear and may require that the implant be replaced earlier than anticipated.³

Another important element of a knee implant is the polyethylene that fits into the tibial tray and slides against the femoral component . While a variety of polyethylene materials have been used in implants throughout the years, Optetrak features “net-compression molded” polyethylene, which has demonstrated 72 percent better wear than rates recently cited by another leading manufacturer.³

Scientific medical journals have published reports on the long-lasting success of the Optetrak knee.^1,2

References

1. Robinson R. Five-year follow-up of primary Optetrak posterior stabilized total knee
arthroplasties in osteoarthritis. Journal Arthrop. 2005;20(7):927-31.
2. Gradisar IA Jr, Askew M, Burstein A. Clinical performance of the Optetrak total knee prosthesis: minimum two-year follow-up. Presented at the European Federation of
National Associations of Orthopaedics and Traumatology. June 1999.
3. Data on file at Exactech.
4. Bartel D, Rawlinson J, Burstein A, Ranawat C, Flynn W Jr. Stresses in polyethylene components of contemporary total knee replacements. Clin Orthop. 1995;317:76-82.