Cartiva’s water-based implant for big toe damage

(Reuters) — When the painkillers stop working, arthritic joint damage in the big toe can make even the weight of a bedsheet agonizing.

Standard surgery eliminates that pain by removing the cartilage and fusing the bones, but at the expense of mobility.

Cartiva Inc‘s implant – made of the same substance used in contact lenses, called hydrogel – was approved for big-toe surgeries by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in July.

It is designed to mimic natural cartilage and can achieve the same pain relief as surgery while retaining joint-mobility.

Get the full story at our sister site, Medical Design & Outsourcing.

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