CMI Product Tour


     

    How does CMI work

    Surgeons have known for some time that "more meniscus is better" and thus aim to preserve or
    replace meniscus tissue that is lost to injury, disease, or surgery. The CMI procedure is a new
    way to preserve meniscus tissue volume by encouraging growth of the patient's own tissue.

    The CMI is a biologically, resorbable implant made of highly purified collagen and was designed
    to guide new tissue growth in the meniscus using the body's own healing process. First, the
    CMI is arthroscopically sutured into the void left by a partial meniscectomy. The CMI provides a
    porous scaffold, or template, which the body's own cells infiltrate. When these cells aggregate
    and multiply, they create new meniscus-like tissue. As tissue generation takes place, the CMI is
    gradually rebsorbed by the body.

    The new tissue has the potential to restore function, reduce pain, and possibly delay the
    degenerative process that begins with the loss of meniscus tissue.

    Why Use CMI

    • The CMI procedure can help patients avoid permanent loss of meniscus tissue. Patients treated with CMI are nearly three times less likely to need additional meniscus surgery compared to patients treated with only a partial meniscectomy.
    • Generation of new tissue in the meniscus may delay or prevent the development of degenerative joint disease in the knee. In clinical studies, CMI demonstrated superiority over partial meniscectomy 10 years post-surgery and has shown the ability to regenerate up to 75% of the original meniscus.
    • Using CMI helps patients with chronic meniscus injuries regain more of their lost activity levels, than partial meniscectomy alone. Patients who undergo the CMI procedure have increased activity levels and decreased pain compared to how they felt prior to surgery.
    • CMI has shown no significant safety issues in clinical studies, has a 15 year history of clinical use and has been the subject of more than 20 peer-reviewed publications.
    • The procedure can be performed by any surgeon practiced in arthroscopic surgical techniques for the knee and specifically trained in the use of the CMI.

     

    Who should receive CMI Therapy?

    An orthopedic surgeon is best equipped to determine if a patient is a good candidate for CMI. Several factors will be assessed, including (but not limited to):

    • Does the patient have an irreparable meniscus tear requiring partial meniscectomy?
    • Does the meniscus damage require greater than 25% removal?
    • Is the patient willing and able to follow the post-operative rehabilitation program?


    Some patients with certain conditions are not good candidates for the CMI procedure. This includes those who have:

    • PCL insufficiency of the involved knee
    • Untreatable degenerative cartilage disease in the affected joint
    • Malformations or malalignment of the knee
    • Allergies to animal collagen or chondroitin sulfate
    • Infection
    • History of anaphylactoid reaction
    • Rheumatoid arthritis
    • Relapsing polychondritis
    • Degenerative osteoarthritis
    • Inflammatory arthritis


    For a full listing of product indications, contraindications, warnings, and precautions click here. Once a doctor determines a patient is a good candidate for the CMI procedure the steps are fairly simple. A brief overview of what the patient can expect is outlined below:

    • The surgeon will perform a routine diagnostic arthroscopy to confirm the meniscus injury and the appropriateness of the CMI procedure.
    • The surgeon will prepare the meniscus by removing any damaged tissue.
    • The meniscus defect will be measured, and the CMI scaffold will be trimmed to fit.
    • The CMI scaffold will be placed into the knee joint through an arthroscopic portal.
    • The CMI device will be sutured in place.
    • The surgeon will close the small openings in the knee that were used to access the joint space.