MARIETTA, Ga., Dec. 3, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- HealthTronics Surgical Services, Inc. (Nasdaq:HTRN), a leading provider of minimally invasive urologic and orthopaedic services, today announced that the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons (ACFAS) and the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) have released a joint policy statement endorsing the use of extracorporeal shock waves (ESW) for the treatment of plantar fasciitis, more commonly known as heel spurs or heel pain syndrome. This policy statement acknowledges ESW as "revolutionizing the treatment of chronic heel pain, much the same way the lithotripter did for kidney stones in 1984."
Additionally, a new study recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association has shown superior efficacy utilizing high-energy shock waves in the treatment of calcific tendonopathy of the shoulder.
The HealthTronics' OssaTron(r) was the first high-energy ESW device in the U.S. approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The OssaTron is the only device in the U.S. approved to treat two chronic orthopaedic conditions, chronic plantar fasciitis and chronic lateral epicondylitis, more commonly referred to as tennis elbow. HealthTronics currently operates approximately 60 OssaTrons throughout the country and the Company has performed approximately 15,000 procedures since receiving FDA approval for its first indication in early 2001.
"We feel that this statement from the medical community and the JAMA article further validate high energy ESW minimally invasive surgery (ESWS) as a clinically effective and safe non-invasive surgical treatment for a broad range of chronic musculoskeletal conditions," commented Argil Wheelock, HealthTronics Chairman and CEO. "According to the position paper of the ACFAS and the APMA, the outcomes from ESW are similar to those achieved with traditional surgery while the ESW patients have fewer significant complications and return to normal activity much sooner. In my opinion, these factors make ESWS the treatment of choice for patients who need surgical intervention if they do not improve with conservative treatment modalities."
About HealthTronics Surgical Services
HealthTronics Surgical Services, Inc. is one of the nation's leading providers of non-invasive and minimally invasive surgical services for certain urologic and orthopaedic conditions. The Company provides technical and administrative services to physicians, hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers using extracorporeal shock wave devices. The two primary services offered by HealthTronics are lithotripsy extracorporeal shock wave treatment, which is a procedure for treating kidney stones in a non-invasive manner, and Orthotripsy(r) extracorporeal shock wave surgery, which is a procedure for treating orthopaedic soft tissue disorders in a non-invasive manner. The Company has operations in approximately 45 states in the United States. More information about HealthTronics Surgical Services can be found at the Company's website, www.healthtronics.com.
Safe Harbor
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties or other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements of HealthTronics Surgical Services to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements express or implied by such forward-looking statements. As always, these expectations and projections are based on currently available competitive, financial, and economic data, along with operating plans, and are subject to future events and uncertainties. Among the events and uncertainties which could adversely affect future periods are: inability to establish or maintain relationships with physicians and hospitals; health care regulatory developments that prevent certain transactions with health care professionals or facilities; inability of the Company or health care providers to obtain reimbursement for use of the Company's current or future products; competition or technological change that impacts the market for the Company's products; and difficulty in managing the Company's growth. Additional factors that might cause such a difference, include, but are not limited to those discussed in the Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2002, and in subsequent documents filed by HealthTronics Surgical Services with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
------------------------------------------ Argil J. Wheelock, Chief Executive Officer