Naples-based Arthrex helps star athletes and everyday people get back to peak performance

A season before making it to the big game, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy suffered a torn UCL, Ulnar Collateral Ligament.

Purdy underwent surgery, mentioning Naples-based Arthrex by name to ESPN, crediting the medical device company with the novel procedure that helped him heal quickly.

Many athletes, including Aaron Rodgers, credit the company with helping them get back to peak performance.

But as WINK News Health and Medical Reporter Amy Oshier learned, it’s not just about professional athletes.

“Every day this company operates to drive innovation,” said John Schmieding, Sr. Vice President and General Counsel at Arthrex.

Inside Arthrex

The company gave Oshier an exclusive look, access into its operation and shared how their success is all by design.

Long distance runner Stacie Hall benefited from an Arthrex device.

“My best friend and I go and do an annual half marathon weekend so that we can do a 5k, a 10k and a half,” added Hall.

But a catastrophic leg injury nearly sidelined her. After surgery she was left with a lot of scar tissue.

She hoped to run free of pain again. Orthopedic Surgeon Brian Wallace wanted that too. He leaned on a new device from Arthrex, a sliver-sized tool that could remove the troublesome tissue.

“Stacie had the NanoNeedle arthroscopy procedure to resect that plaque, use pinhole-sized incisions and recovery was remarkably quick,” explained Wallace.

The NanoNeedle Scope was launched within the last year and a half, so it is part of Arthrex’s latest technology in imaging and resection.

Hall walked in and walked out a few hours later after benefiting from the technology.

Sometimes it’s referred to as similar to building a ship in a bottle. John Schmieding, Arthrex Sr. Vice President, General Counsel

“I’ve seen an explosion, the evolution of technology that’s really helped people bounce back from injuries much quicker,” added the orthopedic surgeon.

It’s more than recreational for elite athletes. Their future rides on getting back to peak performance. The novel technology is why pros like Aaron Rogers and Brock Purdy are public in their praise of Arthrex.

Schmieding, a senior executive, also shepherds the company’s patent process.

High-tech tools and devices

At the Naples headquarters, a walk of fame blazes a trail, representing novel tools, surgical guides, wound dressings, and more.

“Last year alone, we had 53 issued patents,” he added. “In total, we’re about at 1800 patents and patent applications.”

Oshier got exclusive access into the operating rooms where doctors train using cadavers and the showroom featuring the latest and greatest technologies.

All of it is, by design, making medical procedures smaller, sleeker and more efficient.

“You’re making smaller incisions to repair certain areas of your body with micro-instruments and implants and devices — which harm the patient less and allows them to recover and get back in the game faster,” offered Schmieding.

Dr. Chris Adams oversees medical education, by training community surgeons, and hosting conferences with team doctors.

Further setting them apart, is the branding. They use cool names for cutting edge technology. Rodgers said he benefited from SpeedBridge™, which tightly reattached his Achilles tendon and JumpStart^® wound dressing. It’s embedded with Microcell batteries which kill bacteria.

“We want it to be intuitive,” said Dr. Adams. “So if you see a name, you hear a name, you say, ‘Oh, I know exactly what that does.'”

But the folks at Arthrex told Oshier, the real winners aren’t the big-name athletes, staying in the game. The reality hits much closer to home.

“It’s about my mother, your mother,” Schmieding reflected. “It’s everyone’s family member out there who needs a procedure to really stay in the game of life.”

The founder of Arthrex, Reinhold Schmieding drives the innovation, naming each device and he is personally responsible for 100 patents.