Integra LifeSciences reaches milestone in implanted ALIF fusion devices

Integra LifeSciences announced in a press release that it had reached a milestone in the commercialization of the Vu a-POD anterior lumbar intervertebral body fusion device. Launched in the United States in early 2009, the device has now been implanted in more than 800 patients in the United States.

With required secondary fixation, the SpinPlate technology of the Vu a-Pod fusion device provides an internal locking mechanism that enhances implant stability and reduces the risk of unintended implant expulsion, the company said. The fusion device also offers a large graft window that allows a substantial quantity of bone graft to be packed within the implant to promote autogenous bone fusion and further enhance stability.

James Bruffey, MD, of Scripps Clinic, La Jolla, CA, the surgeon inventor for the Vu a-POD fusion device, stated, “I have almost 2 years of clinical experience with the Vu a-POD fusion device and SpinPlate. The footprint and lordosis options available for the PEEK implant have allowed me to optimize graft placement and position for a variety of patient pathologies. The SpinPlate is simple, safe, and secure. It holds the implant at the point of placement, which I think has optimized its clinical performance. Fusion rates have been extremely high, and I have noted very few problems with implant subsidence and no issues with implant migration. The simplicity of the SpinPlate has dramatically reduced operative times, and the true zero-profile nature of the implant has resulted in no intraoperative or postoperative vascular injury issues."