Study Confirms Benefit of ActivaPin to Treat Pediatric Elbow Injuries

A recently published clinical study confirms the benefits of using Bioretec’s fully bioresorbable ActivaPin™ implant together with bioabsorbable suture, for the tension band wire treatment of pediatric medial epicondyle humeral fractures. Results of the retrospective cohort study show that patients treated with bioresorbable ActivaPin were provided a good alternative treatment against traditional non-biodegradable metallic implants but without a need for second surgical intervention (such as metal implant removal).

According to the study, the safety and efficiency of bioabsorbable implant is comparable to other novel approaches and traditional metallic implants. However, the non-biodegradable metal implants often require removal surgery that can cause even further complications. The ActivaPin implant is made of self-reinforced bioresorbable polymer, which safely disappears in the body in approximately two years.

In the study, 24 consecutive patients were retrospectively reviewed between January 2016 and January 2019. The patients underwent operations due to medial humeral epicondyle fractures and were treated with bioresorbable ActivaPin along with tension band polydioxanone sutures. Postoperatively, the clinical outcome was confirmed in different follow-up time points with x-rays. At four weeks, all patients showed callus formation on the x-ray. By the third postoperative month, the range of motion of the elbow was complete in 22 patients, and the other two children regained their full range of movement by the sixth month. No growth disturbance, necrosis or axial malalignment were observed during the follow-up period of 16 to 60 months, neither any nonunion nor delayed union.

ActivaPin has been in the market since 2008, and the product is currently used in over 30 countries.

Source: Bioretec