Knowledge is Powerful

While knee replacement surgery has become relatively routine, there's a big difference in the design of implants among manufacturers in the industry.

Because Stryker's GetAroundKnee System has a single radius, which is similar to a circle, it is designed to replace the knee's naturally circular motion. Other knee replacements have oval designs with different centers of rotation.

Given this tangible difference, and with direct input from surgeons, Stryker developed an advertising campaign intended to provide patients with information about their options, associated clinical evidence and how to contact a surgeon familiar with the GetAroundKnee System.

"People want to know about their recovery and why this knee is different than other knees," says Dr. Walter B. Beaver, an orthopaedic surgeon in Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S. The campaign "doesn't promise; it educates people in a very light way – a little bit of humor and a little bit of science – which patients seem to really appreciate," he adds. "More people come in understanding this campaign than any of the others I know of."

Dr. Beaver's patient, Nancy Fish, a middle school teacher, says, "It was helpful to watch the commercial and see the actual knee moving – that kind of education by a company was different and really got my attention. Ultimately, it was the best thing that ever happened to me."

"Another differentiating characteristic of the GetAroundKnee campaign," says Dr. Beaver, "is that Stryker took the right steps in getting surgeon feedback early on. They have kept the surgeons informed."

Now, many people are asking Nancy about her GetAroundKnee. "They are clearly seeing the campaign, which gets them thinking more seriously about their surgery," she says.

Since the first TV commercial aired in May 2012, more than a half-million people have visited the GetAroundKnee web site, www.getaroundknee.com.