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Treating your Ankle Arthritis

with the INFINITY Total Ankle System


Diseases of the Ankle

* What Is Osteoarthritis? Osteoarthritis, also known as degenerative arthritis, is the most common joint disorder, which is due to aging and wear and tear on a joint.

* What Is Rheumatoid Arthritis? Rheumatoid arthritis occurs when the body’s own immune system attacks the synovial lining of the joints, just as it would a foreign bacteria. Synovial fluid is a clear, smooth, oil-like lubricating liquid that makes it easier for the joints to move. *What Is Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome? Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome is the result of nerve compression in the ankle as the sensory nerve passes under the tarsal tunnel and the tunnel is irritated by pressure. The result is numbness and tingling in the foot and ankle.

*What Is Ankle Injury? Ankle injury occurs when there is trauma to the joint. Symptoms include swelling, pain, weakness and difficulty walking. These injuries can significantly affect your mobility.


What is the purpose of the INFINITY Total Ankle System?

The INFINITY Total Ankle is intended to give a patient limited mobility by reducing pain, restoring alignment and replacing the flexion and extension movement in the ankle joint.


The INFINITY Total Ankle is indicated for patients with ankle joints damaged by severe rheumatoid, post-traumatic, or degenerative arthritis


 

The INFINITY™ Total Ankle System consists of a highly polished metal talar dome, a titanium alloy tibial tray, and an ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene insert (UHMWPE).

All components are available in varying sizes to best match your anatomy.


For more information and an animation:


Key Features:


  • Low-Profile Tibial Implant Design


  • Resurfacing Talar Component Designed for Full Fluoroscopic Visualization

  • Optimized for the Efficiency and Accuracy1 of PROPHECY™ Preoperative Navigation

  • Talar Component Interchangeability

Full Visualization of Bone-Implant Interface

The INFINITY™ prosthesis was purposefully designed without tibial flanges or barrels and without talar dome side walls that would obscure fluoroscopic imaging.


By allowing complete visualization of the implant interface, the surgeon can verify thorough seating of the prosthesis. This important feature also facilitates the visibility of X-rays for post-op follow up.


What is PROPHECY INFINITY?


PROPHECY Preoperative Navigation Guides are patient-specific surgical instrumentation designed to assist in the positioning of total ankle replacement components. Through the combination of computer imaging and the patient’s own CT scan, a patient-specific preoperative plan is developed. Implant sizing and alignment are determined using the patient’s anatomic landmarks and the surgeon’s preferences. PROPHECY Preoperative Navigation Guides are then created which set resection guide locations, reducing intraoperative steps to simplify surgery.


What are the benefits of preoperative navigation?


PROPHECY guides provide the alignment accuracy of the traditional Total Ankle System while reducing surgical and fluoroscopic steps allowing the potential for:

• Less procedural complexity

• Less fluoroscopy exposure for patients, surgeons, and staff

• Reduced surgical time



What are the Alternatives?

There are both surgical and non-surgical alternatives to ankle replacement surgery.

First line treatments for arthritis of the ankle are non-surgical methods.

Several of the non-surgical methods provide relief because they limit motion, throughs decreasing the irritation of the arthritic joint.


One such method is the use of shoe inserts (orthotics), such as pads and arch supports. The use of an ankle brace or a cane can also help to take pressure and stress off the arthritic joint. An ankle-foot orthrosis (AFO), or a custom-made shoe with a stiff sole and a rocker bottom, can also work by decreasing motion thru the ankle joint.

Direct injection of medication into the arthritic joint can give up to several months of pain relief. It is important to note that weight control is also an important method of decreasing the stress on the ankle.


Although none of these treatments can reverse or cure the deteriorated cartilage, they can provide improved function with decreased pain. If the non-surgical treatments don’t adequately reduce your pain, surgical options can be pursued.


The specific surgery that is right for you depends on the extent and pattern of cartilage damage and level of pain associated with the ankle. Alternatives to ankle What Are the Alternatives?197 replacement include: debridement, allograft (cadaver) arthroplasty, distraction arthroplasty, and arthrodesis (fusion). A debridement is essentially “cleaning up the ankle joint” and can be done arthroscopically or through open techniques. This procedure involves the removal of inflamed synovial tissue (joint lining), loose cartilage fragments and osteophytes (bone spurs). In ankles that still have a reasonable amount of normal cartilage remaining, this method can give relief of pain for several months to years. For ankles that have diffuse cartilage loss, arthrodesis (fusion) is a procedure where your orthopedic surgeon takes out the remaining cartilage and uses screws and other metal “hardware” to stabilize the joint to allow the bone to heal together and eliminate motion and pain.


Total Ankle Replacement VS Ankle Fusion


The INFINITY Total Ankle System is an ankle replacement device.

  • With an ankle replacement device, the surgeon covers your distal tibia with a metal tibial tray, your talus with a metal talar dome, and a poly block is placed in between both components.


  • With an ankle fusion an orthopedic surgeon determines which type of fixation is most appropriate for each patient. In external fixation, surgical pins are fixed inside the leg and ankle bones to keep the bones in place, and an outer metal rod and pins hold the bones in place until they heal. More commonly, in an internal fixation approach, the cartilage at the ankle joint is removed, and the ankle and leg bones are compressed with internal plates and screws so that the bones fuse.





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