18 Oct Using the geko™ device to take on oedema for faster recovery
A major hospital in Jordan’s second largest city has become the latest hospital in the region to adopt the geko™ device to treat and prevent lower limb post-operative and trauma-based oedema.
The Al Hikma hospital in Zarqa, Jordan, will now use the device for pre-operative reduction of swelling in patients with conditions such as leg breaks and post operatively to reduce swelling in patients after hip or knee surgery.
A local champion
Championing this adoption locally was Dr Samieh Ismail Abu Khaleifa, a Consultant Orthopedic Surgeon, who has been keen to point out the benefits of the geko™ device in reducing the length of stay for hospital patients. He commented: “Lower limb post-operative and trauma-based oedema is a complicating factor that can impact length of hospital stay, functional recovery and readmission rates. My team were keen to explore geko™ device use as an alternative mechanical intervention to enhance recovery. The easy-to-use device, the size of a wrist-watch, is now in routine use providing safe and well-tolerated oedema control, ensuring that all of our patients can now receive appropriate oedema management for better clinical outcomes – and importantly improved patient satisfaction.”
Supplementing current standards of care
The current standard of care for pre-operative oedema reduction in ankle fracture patients is a back slab plaster cast combined with leg elevation. However, this method can take time to reduce swelling. In NHS real world data, patients using the geko™ device reported a pre-operative improvement in readiness for surgery of two days – reducing both the cost of an in hospital stay and discomfort for a patient significantly.
For post-operative surgery, such as knee and hip replacements, the hospital used intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) as the standard of care. However, this is not suitable for all patients – particularly those with vascular disease, fragile skin, or a complex injury. The geko™ device now offers an alternative to address the “unmet need” of these patients. Furthermore, the geko™ device can also be prescribed for the patient after they leave hospital, further speeding recovery.
Bernard Ross, CEO of Sky Medical Technology commented that the adoption of the geko™ device at the Al Hikma hospital “demonstrated a growing desire to deploy the device across the world for treating swelling in patients.” He paid tribute to Dr Samieh Ismail Abu Khaleifa and his clinical team for their commitment to innovation in patient wellbeing and thanked Tadawi Medical Supplies, the local importer and distributor of the geko™ device
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