Patient Education Opening Page

Welcome to the Inion Patient Education Site:

Learn more about orthopaedics and soft tissue injury treatment on our online patient education section.

Surgical procedures and surgery can be an intimidating hurdle for many patients and this is why we hope to offer our patients a good insight into the type of injury, some possible solutions and how Inion® implants and technologies can help.

It is always extremely important for you to find out as many details as possible about your problem, the available methods of treatment for that condition, and any particular surgical method your physician may recommend for you.

About Inion Ltd.

Inion Ltd. was founded in 1999 by internationally recognized experts in craniomaxillofacial surgery and biomaterial sciences. For the past 5-years Inion Ltd. has played a key role in developing resorbables materials and introducing orthopaedic products that improve quality of health care by reducing the trauma and pain experienced by patients.

Inion Ltd. offers an innovative portfolio of biodegradable products for surgical treatments in a wide variety of specialist areas. We work closely with the surgical community to provide high quality products that meet both clinical needs and expectations.

At Inion Ltd. we pride ourselves on being specialists in the field of biodegradable materials and implants that make a difference to the well-being of patients.

To date, Inion has developed and launched products based on its Inion Optima™ family of biodegradable materials and associated custom instruments in five strategic business areas sold globally:

Craniomaxillofacial surgery

Dental Surgery

Sports Medicine

Orthopaedic Trauma

Spine Surgery  

What are the Inion® products made of?

The products are made of highly pure polymers selected for their strength, toughness, malleability and biodegradation properties. Bioresorbable polymers are a special class of plastic materials that allow the material to serve a function, and then gradually break down and be eliminated from the body through entirely natural processes.

By tailoring the polymer selections, manufacturing processes and product designs, each implant has optimal strength, flexibility, malleability and biodegradation profiles to meet the specific surgical requirements.

These materials have changed surgery because the surgeon does not have to remove the hardware. When you use a nonbiodegradable material, sometimes patients complain of pain from the friction between the implant and body’s tissue.

The polymers in the Inion Optima^TM materials are: L-Lactide, D,L-lactide, Trimethylene carbonate(TMC).The presence of TMC has a strong impact on the toughness of the final products and contributes to the product’s ease of use by surgeons.

What is Inion Optima ^TM?

Inion Optima^TM materials are made by the blending of rigid, highly pure polymers and elastic polymers. The result of blending the polymers is a unique family of materials called Inion Optima^TM that possess extraordinary combinations of strength, toughness (malleability) and biodegradation ability.

What are biodegradable implants?

Medical implants that are biodegradable  break down gradually by a series of natural processes in the body over a period of time. Biodegradable materials are also known as (bio)resorbable, and (bio)absorbable. These implants are metabolized by the body into carbon dioxide and water which is then exhaled and excreted.

What are the resorbtion times of the Inion® biodegradable implants?

The time frame is usually between 35 weeks and 3 years but this varies from patient to patient. Also resorption is also dependant on a number of other factors including:

• implant type and size

• how the material is processed

• where the device is implanted in the body area, e.g. shoulder area is more vascular than the knee area.

The implants initially lose molecular weight, then their strength and finally mass/size.

What eventually happens to the implant? 

The implants degrade by hydrolysis and over a period of time are metabolized into carbon dioxide and water, which is then exhaled and excreted.

I have heard that biodegradables can leave crystals that can cause problems after biodegradation?

Inion Optima™ materials are both safe and biocompatible with the human body. They are completely or substantially amorphous, meaning that they do not leave any crystals after biodegradation – the ideal for biodegradable implants.

What are the advantages of  biodegradable implants over metal implants?

• Bioresorbable implants have many advantages over metal implants, including:

• No need for the surgeon to re operated to remove implants

• Reduced risk of damage to the joint as after a period of time no implant left.

• Implant does not remain in the body In the long term, potentially avoiding problems in the future

• No risk of metal allergies

• Strong method of mending the repair site[not an advantage over metal]