In Leeds Teaching Hospital two patients were successfully treated with the KneeReviver for a knee joint preserving surgery as start of the KARDS study. ArthroSave has trained orthopaedic surgeons and the theatre staff to use the KneeReviver system. The patients are suffering from severe knee osteoarthritis being too young for a total knee replacement.
The patients were treated on 22 July 2021 in the KARDS study to keep longer their own knee joint while postponing the placement of a first knee replacement. ArthroSave partners with STERIS IMS a provider of reprocessing services facilitating safe and reliable sterile ready delivery of the KneeReviver to the KARDS participating hospitals in the United Kingdom.
Leeds Teaching Hospital is the leader of the KARDS study; Knee ARthroplasty vs Distraction Study (KARDS) is a pragmatic, two-arm NI multi-centre trial designed to establish the clinical & cost-effectiveness of knee joint distraction in a NHS setting. In total 344 patients will be included in two years.
Surgical joint distraction without alignment correction for knee osteoarthritis has gained momentum as an option to delay knee replacement. NICE guidance in this area has found the evidence around this intervention to be lacking in quality and quantity and so has sponsored the KARDS study for further research into this procedure that should lead to future reimbursement. In total 20 hospitals in the United Kingdom are participating in the KARDS study.