Small Bone Innovations, Inc. (SBi) announced today the 9.6 million beneficiaries of the US Department of Defense TRICARE® health care program, which covers armed forces personnel, retirees and their families, will now have access to SBi's STAR™ Total Ankle Replacement system.

The STAR is the only total ankle replacement approved through the FDA's rigorous pre-market approval (PMA) process.

SBi is a privately-owned orthopedics company focused exclusively on serving patients and their physicians with technologies and treatments for joint replacement (arthroplasty) and post-traumatic reconstruction of the small bones & joints of the thumb, fingers, hand, wrist, elbow, toes, foot & ankle.

Michael S. Pinzur1, MD, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation at Loyola University Health System in Chicago, said: "My practice is focused on foot and ankle disorders and total ankle replacement is indicated as a viable alternative to ankle fusion. It appears to provide pain relief without sacrificing valuable ankle motion and is an important option for surgeons treating TRICARE members and all other patients with advanced forms of ankle arthritis."

Anthony G. Viscogliosi, Chairman & CEO of SBi, added: "Armed forces personnel and their families deserve the most advanced technologies and treatments. The benefits of the STAR ankle suggest it could become the gold standard for advanced ankle arthritis treatment."

Total patient access to the STAR ankle in U.S. government health care plans has reached all of the almost 100 million eligible individuals, according to SBi's reimbursement consultant, Musculoskeletal Clinical Regulatory Advisers, LLC (MCRA).

1 Dr. Pinzur is paid consultant to SBi - providing education services.

Source:
Small Bone Innovations, Inc.