The BEAR orthopedic implant allows orthopedic surgeons to reconstruct a patient's ACL through a natural healing process, as the implant is reabsorbed by the body in about eight weeks. Here are eight practices that have added the technology this year:
1. Keith Baumgarten, MD, a surgeon at Orthopedic Institute in Sioux Falls, S.D., became the first surgeon in the state to perform a procedure using BEAR technology in November.
2. Cesar Ceballos, MD, founder of OrthoMiami, performed Miami's first BEAR procedure in August.
3. Scripps Clinic in San Diego added BEAR technology in August.
4. The Pediatric Orthopedic Center in Cedar Knolls, N.J., became the first pediatric-only practice in the region to add BEAR in July.
5. Staten Island's iOrtho clinic added BEAR in July.
6. Nancy Yen Shipley, MD, debuted BEAR in the Portland, Ore., region at Multnomah Orthopedic Clinic in June.
7. New York City-based Hospital for Special Surgery added BEAR in June, with two of its surgeons trained to use the technology.
8. Sean McMillan, DO, of Virtua Orthopedics-Cherry Hill, N.J., became the first surgeon to use BEAR in the state in February.