Joint replacement procedures recovered slowly in the wake of the pandemic, but finally picked up momentum in the second half of 2022. Our chart of the month shows combined first-quarter knee and hip replacement sales between 2019 and 2023 for the big four players in the space: Zimmer Biomet, Stryker, DePuy Synthes and Smith+Nephew. By our estimates, knee replacement grew 13% in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the prior year.
The segment’s several years of pressure likely created a sizable surgical backlog. Against a weaker prior-year comparison, it can be difficult to accurately gauge joint replacement’s underlying performance. Healthcare systems, at least in the U.S., aren’t operating in overdrive. It could be that we’re seeing the market operate at something closer to “normal” as disruptions mitigate with some overlapping tailwinds from backlogged procedures and the segment’s pivot toward digital.
“It’s a very hot market,” said Zimmer Biomet CEO Bryan Hanson. “Backlog recovery should be here for a while, but that will eventually go away. There are some things we think are sustainable. There’s a technology shift that’s occurring in orthopedics at a very rapid pace and can lift the overall market growth.”
Joint replacement procedures recovered slowly in the wake of the pandemic, but finally picked up momentum in the second half of 2022. Our chart of the month shows combined first-quarter knee and hip replacement sales between 2019 and 2023 for the big four players in the space: Zimmer Biomet, Stryker, DePuy Synthes and Smith+Nephew. By our...
Joint replacement procedures recovered slowly in the wake of the pandemic, but finally picked up momentum in the second half of 2022. Our chart of the month shows combined first-quarter knee and hip replacement sales between 2019 and 2023 for the big four players in the space: Zimmer Biomet, Stryker, DePuy Synthes and Smith+Nephew. By our estimates, knee replacement grew 13% in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the prior year.
The segment’s several years of pressure likely created a sizable surgical backlog. Against a weaker prior-year comparison, it can be difficult to accurately gauge joint replacement’s underlying performance. Healthcare systems, at least in the U.S., aren’t operating in overdrive. It could be that we’re seeing the market operate at something closer to “normal” as disruptions mitigate with some overlapping tailwinds from backlogged procedures and the segment’s pivot toward digital.
“It’s a very hot market,” said Zimmer Biomet CEO Bryan Hanson. “Backlog recovery should be here for a while, but that will eventually go away. There are some things we think are sustainable. There’s a technology shift that’s occurring in orthopedics at a very rapid pace and can lift the overall market growth.”
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Mike Evers is a Senior Market Analyst and writer with over 15 years of experience in the medical industry, spanning cardiac rhythm management, ER coding and billing, and orthopedics. He joined ORTHOWORLD in 2018, where he provides market analysis and editorial coverage.
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