Medtronic: spine surgery shows benefit |
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Thu, 31 May 2007 20:53
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Medtronic Inc., which had more than $2.4 billion in spinal product sales in fiscal 2007, called attention on Thursday to a government study that found surgical treatments for certain types of lower-back pain were more effective than non-surgical options.The results of the National Institutes of Health-sponsored study, which appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine, followed 607 Medicare patients suffering from a painful condition in which pressure builds on spinal nerves after a vertebrae slips out of place. The condition is known as degenerative spondylolisthesis with spinal stenosis.One group of patients was given surgery to fuse the troubled vertebrae together, a procedure that often uses a spinal device to keep bones immobile while they heal. The other group received standard nonsurgical treatments. Patients were monitored as early as 6 weeks from beginning the study out to 2 years.Those given the surgery showed a substantially greater improvement when patients were treated surgically based on quality of life assessments versus non-surgically, the study concluded.Spinal product sales accounted for $2.42 billion of Medtronic's $12.3 billion in fiscal 2007 revenue.Medtronic shares rose 7 cents to $53.07 in afternoon trading.Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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