SI-Bone reaches 15,000 iFuse procedure milestone

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More than 15,000 iFuse procedures have now been performed worldwide utilising more than 44,000 iFuse implants.

Over 900 surgeons have now performed the iFuse procedure in the USA and 17 countries across Europe. Several events have recently occurred that together have helped contribute to the strong iFuse procedure adoption:

  • In 2014 two of the eight Medicare Administrative Contractors, Novitas and Palmetto, began covering minimally invasive sacroiliac joint fusion procedures.
  • In January 2015 a third Medicare Administrative Contractor, Noridian, began covering the procedure resulting in coverage for over 24 million Medicare beneficiaries.
  • On January 2015 a category I current procedural terminology code 27279 was assigned to minimally invasive sacroiliac joint fusion.
  • In 2015, seven US states and the District of Columbia have established positive coverage for almost 6 million Medicaid patients.

“15,000 surgeries is a significant milestone, but we know there are many more patients who would benefit from iFuse and we look forward to continuing our efforts to ensure that all patients who are appropriate surgical candidates have access to this life changing technology,” said Jeffrey Dunn, president and chief executive officer of SI-bone.

Clinical publications have identified the sacroiliac joint as a pain generator in 15% to 30% of low back pain patients and the prevalence of sacroiliac joint pain in post-lumbar fusion, so called “failed back surgery” patients, has been shown to be up to 43%. Of these patients, some may have degenerative sacroiliitis or sacroiliac joint disruptions. Initial treatment options for patients with sacroiliac joint disorders typically involve non-surgical management and, when non-surgical management of the sacroiliac joint fails, surgical options such as the iFuse procedure may be considered.