Smith & Nephew Reinforces Strong Educational Commitment to Advanced Wound Management at World Union of Wound Healing Societies Meeting (WUWHS)

Smith & Nephew (LSE:SN)(NYSE:SNN), the global medical technology business, highlights three scientific symposia at World Union of Wound Health Societies (WUWHS) on 25–29 September 2016 in Florence, Italy. These symposia reinforce Smith & Nephew’s commitment to supporting healthcare professionals by conducting and effectively communicating research in areas of clinical practice that can enable improved outcomes for patients.

The first symposia will focus on PICO™, a unique single-use negative pressure wound therapy system (sNPWT), and its role in reducing surgical site complications. Through a wealth of clinical evidence, PICO™ is rapidly becoming a leading choice in NPWT due to its ability to manage a wide range of wounds at risk of complications in a clinical and cost effective way. In a recent study, using PICO™ reduced superficial surgical complications four-fold (from 8% to 2%) and significantly reduced the number of total dressing changes required per patient.¹

“Infections can occur at relatively higher than expected rate among patients associated with co-morbid risk factors who have surgery, resulting in considerable social, healthcare and wider economic implications,” says Dr Risal Djohan, Department of Plastic Surgery, Cleveland Clinic, USA . “The clinical evidence that will be presented at WUWHS will further demonstrate how PICO™ could potentially shift the treatment paradigm to heal most types of wounds more efficiently, leading to positive patient outcomes.”

In Smith & Nephew’s second symposia, a panel of 10 global scientific and clinical experts will present an evolving consensus statement, reinforcing the need to better understand the role of biofilms in delayed wound healing and the challenges it presents.

Finally, through the third symposia – Pressure Ulcer Prevention: Driving to Zero – leading experts will discuss prioritising programmes to significantly reduce hospital-acquired pressure ulcers.

Dr. Niz Islam, Vice President, Scientific & Medical Affairs, said “Smith & Nephew is proud to support this important gathering of the community to share data and new practices in advanced wound management. We are bringing together wound experts to present clinically relevant data in symposia on three areas of importance to the community; NPWT, pressure ulcer prevention protocols and a consensus expert panel on biofilms. Through these and other new clinical evidence we aim to improve outcomes for patients, healthcare professionals and health care systems.”

Smith & Nephew is a diamond sponsor of World Union of Wound Healing Societies Meeting

About Smith & Nephew’s WUWHS Symposia

Symposia		Date / Location		Presenters
Pressure Ulcer Prevention: Driving to Zero		27 September 2016 12:15 – 13:15 Hall Brunelleschi		M. Collier (UK), M. Sammon (USA), J. Frumenti (USA)
Surgical Incision Management: Prevention of Surgical Wound Complications with Single-Use NPWT (PICO™)		28 September 2016 12:15 – 13:45 Hall Michelangelo		M. Sugrue (IRE), R. Djohan (USA), N. Hyldig (DK), S. Nair (USA)
Wound Biofilm Consensus: Recommendations from an Expert Panel		29 September 2016 8:30 – 9:30 Hall Donatello		G. Schultz (USA), T. Bjarnsholt (DK), R. Wolcott (USA)

- Ends -

About Smith & Nephew

Smith & Nephew is a global medical technology business dedicated to helping healthcare professionals improve people's lives. With leadership positions in Orthopaedic Reconstruction, Advanced Wound Management, Sports Medicine and Trauma & Extremities, Smith & Nephew has around 15,000 employees and a presence in more than 100 countries. Annual sales in 2015 were more than $4.6 billion. Smith & Nephew is a member of the FTSE100 (LSE:SN, NYSE:SNN).

For more information about Smith & Nephew, please visit our website www.smith-nephew.com, follow @SmithNephewplc on Twitter or visit SmithNephewplc on Facebook.com.

For more information on Smith & Nephew’s presence at WUWHS 2016 please visit us at: http://www.smith-nephew.com/wuwhs2016/.

Forward-looking Statements

This document may contain forward-looking statements that may or may not prove accurate. For example, statements regarding expected revenue growth and trading margins, market trends and our product pipeline are forward-looking statements. Phrases such as "aim", "plan", "intend", "anticipate", "well-placed", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target", "consider" and similar expressions are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from what is expressed or implied by the statements. For Smith & Nephew, these factors include: economic and financial conditions in the markets we serve, especially those affecting health care providers, payers and customers; price levels for established and innovative medical devices; developments in medical technology; regulatory approvals, reimbursement decisions or other government actions; product defects or recalls or other problems with quality management systems or failure to comply with related regulations; litigation relating to patent or other claims; legal compliance risks and related investigative, remedial or enforcement actions; disruption to our supply chain or operations or those of our suppliers; competition for qualified personnel; strategic actions, including acquisitions and dispositions, our success in performing due diligence, valuing and integrating acquired businesses; disruption that may result from transactions or other changes we make in our business plans or organisation to adapt to market developments; and numerous other matters that affect us or our markets, including those of a political, economic, business, competitive or reputational nature. Please refer to the documents that Smith & Nephew has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including Smith & Nephew's most recent annual report on Form 20-F, for a discussion of certain of these factors. Any forward-looking statement is based on information available to Smith & Nephew as of the date of the statement. All written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to Smith & Nephew are qualified by this caution. Smith & Nephew does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in circumstances or in Smith & Nephew's expectations.

^◊ Trademark of Smith & Nephew. Certain marks registered US Patent and Trademark Office.

References

1. Karlakki, S. et al. (2016). Incisional negative pressure wound dressings (NPWTd) in routine primary hip and knee replacements – A randomised controlled trial. Bone and Joint Research

To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160921005078/en/

Contact information

Madano
Karley Ura, +44 (0) 20 3595 2415
or
Jaclyn Confalone, +44 (0) 20 3595 2441