Arthrosurface and You

Great Toe - Product Overview
The Arthrosurface® HemiCAP® system is a surgical method for the treatment of localized cartilage lesions and defects in the major joints. This system is comprised of three elements; a three-dimensional mapping technology, a set of instruments to map and prepare the damaged area and a cobalt-chrome and titanium implant. The system precisely aligns the surface of the implant to the contours of the patient's articular cartilage surface, thus filling the defect and restoring a smooth and continuous articular surface. The HemiCAP® system has been developed so that it can be utilized via minimally disruptive surgical techniques.

The HemiCAP® Instrument Set enables the surgeon to accurately place the implant and precisely map the curves of the articular surface, in real-time, under direct or arthroscopic visualization, with no angle-induced errors or magnification errors that might exist with MRI, or X-ray imaging techniques.

The HemiCAP® system is intended to provide an effective interim means for managing pain and disability in the middle-aged patient until a total joint replacement treatment option becomes more necessary, and is part of a clinical treatment strategy to help avoid early-age-revision scenarios. The prosthetic may also provide a treatment option for the older patient who may not tolerate the morbidity of a total joint replacement procedure.
The HemiCAP® implants and instruments are designed to remove a minimal amount of bone stock, preserve functional structures and tissues, and allow for an uncomplicated removal in the event of revision. (Taken from the manufacturer's website)

As far as implants go, this utilizes very minimal bone ressection which makes is easier to fuse the joint down the road if the need arises with less need for bone graft and plating techniques. Ultimately this implant in the right patient will do well. If you are too active, young, have Gout, or have bad arterial circulation you are probably not a good candidate for this procedure. Regardless, if you are having joint pain in the first toe joint and other doctors have told you that fusion is your only option, it would not be detrimental to stop here and let us decide if this implant is a good "fit" for you.