Unior Bionic Ortho Unibionix Stem and Cup (Implant 2212161)

Courtesy of 

Jeremy T. Hines, MD

Hip and Knee, Adult Joint Reconstruction

EmergeOrtho, Coastal Region

Wilmington, NC, USA

Identified by Berk Gencer and Chris Wilson as a Unior Bionic Ortho Unibionix Stem and Cup by Holz and Copf from Slovenia.  They learned of this via Instagram and informed OrthopaedicLIST.com via LinkedIn.

Arthur de Gast, MD, PhD cited an article about them:  https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00264-014-2623-4.

Comments from Prof.Dr.med. Peter Aldinger, Arztlicher Direktor, Orthopaedische Klinik Pauli in Stuttgart:  "It was designed in Stuttgart by Copf/Holtz.  1st version CoCr Alloy (left).  2nd version Titanium Alloy (right).  Revised a couple of these, large defects..."

Comments from Samo K. Fokter, MD, PhD, Consultant Orthopedic Surgeon, University Medical Center, Maribor, Slovenia and lead author of the above-cited article:  "These implants were designed by Prof. Copf, a Slovenian orthopedic surgeon who worked in Germany.  The producer of the first generation of these "bionic" implants that were made of Tantlum, was a German company.  The second generation of implants were made of Ti-alloy and appear bulkier on x-rays.  According to the plans, the production of the second generation should be in Slovenia (Unior Bionic, a hand-toolsmaking company from Zrece, Slovenia).  Unfortunately, the company later did not decide to go into serial production.  I was involved in the design modification of the femoral stem for the third generation (described in the cited article).  The idea behind the design was that the prosthesis will integrate itself into the cancellous bone.  Therefore, all hollow areas were filled with autologous bone chips before insertion."

Please see a PDF of Dr. Fokter's paper in the column to the right.