Novel Femoral Elevator Assists Orthopedic Hip Procedures

A new femoral elevator provides a simple method to stabilize the resected femur during femoral canal broaching.

The Bookwalter Femoral Elevator supports the direct anterior approach (DAA) for total hip arthroplasty (THA) by providing a simple method to elevate and stabilize the resected femur during subsequent orthopedic surgery. The elevator is intended to be table-mounted using the Bookwalter retractor system, leveraging the robust construction and the operating room (OR) table attachment to obviate the need for an assistant to elevate the femur using hand-held retractors during off-table cases.


Developed through collaboration with surgeons and OR professionals, The Bookwalter Retractor System includes an over-the-drapes table post, an oval positioning ring, and a range of retractor and elevator blades placed on bars with straight and rotating ratchet mechanisms, which help to hold body parts and toe them in, much as a hand-held device. The Bookwalter Femoral Elevator and the Bookwalter Retractor System are products of Symmetry Surgical (Nashville, TN, USA).

“Symmetry Surgical is focused on driving innovation and developing surgical instruments that help give our customers leading-edge alternatives in surgical procedures," said Ajey Atre, president of Symmetry Surgical. “The new Bookwalter Femoral Elevator demonstrates our commitment to developing surgical technologies designed to help surgeons and surgical staff deliver exceptional care around the world.”

“I believe that good exposure is the key to good surgery. By facilitating reliable exposure of the femoral shaft within the incision, the new Bookwalter Femoral Elevator can help hospitals and surgery centers provide access and visibility in minimally invasive direct access hip surgery,” said John Bookwalter, MD, surgeon inventor of the Bookwalter Retractor System. “This new Bookwalter innovation is the result of years of research and development with orthopedic surgeons and I am excited to extend the Bookwalter brand to Orthopedics.”

The anterior approach for THA is a tissue-sparing alternative to traditional hip replacement surgery that provides the potential for less pain, faster recovery, and improved mobility because the tissues are spared during the surgical procedure. The technique allows the surgeon to work between the patient‘s muscles and tissues without detaching them from either the hip or thighbones—sparing the tissue from trauma and physical injury. Keeping the muscles intact may also help to prevent dislocations.

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