TES procedure L5-S1 with a large sequester caudally – operation performed by Dr. Menno Iprenburg

Click here to read a newspaper artical on Dutch speed skater Renate Groenewold (2009 world champion over 3000 meters) following her TES operation on 2nd May 2009.

Karlsruhe – Spine experts from across the world met at the beginning of August at COMINCO (Brazilian Congress of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery) in São Paulo. This was the fifth time that COMINCO has taken place and it provided an opportunity for large numbers of experts to share information and ideas in the fields of neurosurgery and orthopedics.

Minimally invasive treatment methods and their successes from the patient’s perspective were the focus of the congress. The very latest surgical possibilities and techniques were presented in symposia, workshops, and numerous lectures to a very high scientific standard. joimax® GmbH trainer, Dr. med. Ralf Wagner from Frankfurt, Germany, notably introduced TESSYS® in his presentation “Endoscopy of the lumbar spine in degenerative diseases.” This technique provides transforaminal access to the lumbar spine for treatment of herniated discs and stenosis – an osseous narrowing of the spinal canal.

IRVINE, CA – November 30, 2017 – joimax^®, recently awarded as German Growth Champion 2018, continues to share its expertise in endoscopic minimally invasive spine surgery. With the latest workshops in Krasnodar, RUS, Guadalajara, Mexico and at the Wooridul Hospital in Korea, the company strengthens its outstanding education program. During the workshops, surgeons are trained in endoscopic techniques and other minimally-invasive procedures. Since the start of the cooperation with the Korean Wooridul group, the world’s largest specialized MISS – Endoscopic Spine Hospital Network, in 2017, a series of four courses, provided at different levels, have now been performed.

“Heavily increasing user interest and fast growing patient demand for endoscopic spinal surgery is leading to major needs, which joimax^® is addressing by broadening its training program and presence at international congresses,” says Wolfgang Ries, Founder and CEO of joimax^®.

Hence, joimax^® again had an outstanding presence at the 12^th International Congress of the Chinese Orthopedic Association (COA), which took place in Zhuhai, China, from Nov 15 – 18, 2017. In Vietnam, the first cervical surgery with the joimax^® CESSYS^® system was successfully performed by joimax^® faculty Dr. Jun Seok Bae together with Dr. Dinh Ngoc Son, on Nov 22, 2017 at the Viet-Duc Hospital, the largest surgical center of Vietnam in Hanoi.

At the upcoming congress of the German Spine Society (DWG), taking place Nov 30 – Dec 02, 2017, in Stuttgart, Germany, joimax^® will introduce its newest camera system called Camsource^® LED combined with its latest Vitegra^® Docu and Command Visual Integration System offering the highest resolution imaging with CMOS sensor technology. Additionally, the company will present its extended EndoLIF^® portfolio with the new EndoLIF^® Double-Wedge Cage, usable for TLIF- and ELIF-fusion techniques. joimax^® will host two lunch symposia and hold “Meet-the-Expert” presentations at its booth.

At the same time, the company will have a booth with 2 workshop stations at the KOMISS (Korean Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Society) International Symposium and Hands-on Cadaver Workshop for Endoscopic Spine Surgery, taking place from Dec 1 – 3 in Incheon, Korea. The year ends with another excellent workshop at the IRCAD Institute in Taiwan on Dec 22- 23, 2017.

Maximilian Ries

Ries took on the newly created role of Executive Vice President, Business Development and Operations at joimax^®. In this position, based in Germany, he will be responsible for scaling global operations to ensure joimax^® continues its exponential growth. Formerly the General Manager, for the past six of his 13-year tenure with joimax^®, Ries built out the United States and Latin American markets.

Tony Troncale

Troncale was promoted to General Manager; he was formerly Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at joimax^® Inc. Over the past two years, Troncale, in addition to increasing his responsibilities, successfully capitalized on the significant interest in endoscopic techniques to expand US sales operations. He joined joimax^® in 2021 bringing 20-years of experience in the spinal device industry where he served in sales and marketing leadership roles at Stryker, K2M, and Synthes Spine. Contributing to the global organization’s continuous strong sales growth was the launch of a new surgical access system, “Tessys^® Trans SAP” and the global expansion of the ESPINEA^® Education Academy.

Wolfgang Ries

“I am extremely pleased with our 2022 global performance and the significant interest in endoscopic spine surgery,” stated joimax^® Founder and CEO Wolfgang Ries. “With Max and Tony in their new roles, our market-leading endoscopic spine technologies, and our anticipated launch of two more new surgical access systems later in 2023, we are well positioned for another very successful year.”

During a special joimax^® faculty meeting which was held at the institute of anatomy at the University of Mainz, Germany on June 20-21, joimax^® honored three surgeons with the Parviz Kambin Award. Dr. Albert Telfeian, Rhode Island Hospital, Brown University, RI, US and Dr. Gabriele Jasper, Center for Pain Control, NJ, US received the award in recognition of their outstanding scientific and educational dedication to transforaminal surgery. The two surgeons tremendously contributed to this field with numerous high quality publications. Also they are treading new paths for spinal endoscopy. Just recently Dr. Telfeian did the first awake surgery to remove a thoracic spinal tumor. Dr. Menno Iprenburg, Iprenburg Herniakliniek, NL received the award for his lifetime achievement. Dr. Iprenburg is applying joimax techniques, especially TESSYS, since 2004. In his private clinic, he successfully treated more than 2000 patients suffering from disc herniations.

The award is named after Dr. Parviz Kambin who identified a workspace within the intervertebral foramen, through which the spinal canal can be accessed safely. Because this safe zone is somewhat triangular shaped, it was named the „Kambin triangle“.

IRVINE, CA – May 13, 2019 – joimax^®,, the Germany-based market leader of technologies and training methods for full-endoscopic, minimally-invasive spinal surgery, is showcasing its Integrated Navigation Tracking & Control System, Intracs^®em, at this year’s Global Spine Congress (GSC), which is currently being held in Toronto, Canada. The company is also promoting the system at the annual meeting of the German Society of Neurosurgery (DGNC), being held concurrently in Wurzburg, Germany.

The Intracs^®em electromagnetic navigation system is simple to set up, very user-friendly, and seamlessly integrates into the joimax^® endoscopic tower. It allows for navigation during any endoscopic procedure performed with the joimax^® endoscopic surgical systems, TESSYS^® (transforaminal) and iLESSYS^® (interlaminar). Beyond that, it can serve as a stand-alone device.

The system relies on electromagnetic tracking, affording simultaneous navigation of multiple instruments such as needles, guiding rods, reamers and endoscopes. It was developed by joimax^®  for easy planning of endoscopic approaches to the spine, as well as other minimally invasive procedures, like percutaneous fusions.

Various Intracs^®em sensors guarantee the highest accuracy. Plus, for the patients’ benefit, the procedure can be carried out without further X-ray control –  only starting X-rays are required. As a result, access, intervention time, and radiation exposure, are reduced to a minimum.

The system is CE-Marked. Currently, clinical trials and applications are running in Europe and Asia, where the product has already launched. In specific Asian countries, like Taiwan, the first systems have been sold and shipped.

Users are very impressed with the usability of the system. “I didn’t expect that navigation for both transforaminal and interlaminar procedures can be made so easy and that the set-up time can be so much streamlined,“ states Prof. Michael Kraus, spine specialist in Augsburg, Germany.  “And for the thoracic approach, it is so precise and a tremendous help,” continues Dr. Erik Traupe, spine specialist in Munich, Germany.

The launch of Intracs^®em is a key milestone for joimax^®. As part of its global strategy, joimax^®  is providing surgeons, worldwide, with the devices they need for safe, easy and gentle spinal therapies, with US-FDA submission planned for Q2, 2019. “We are committed to overcoming any obstacles and concerns related to minimally invasive, endoscopic spine surgery,” states joimax^® CEO and Founder Wolfgang Ries. “Our success lies with our innovative, user-friendly devices and instruments, and our ability to provide both doctor and patient with outstanding safety built into our systems.” Moreover, a well established and targeted clinical training program for the spinal surgical community, named CM3, rounds out the joimax^® educational offering. Earlier this year, joimax^® launched ESPINEA^®, an Endoscopic Spine Academy focused on a complete endoscopic spine curriculum. Designed as a full training program to elevate surgeons to the next level of expertise, ESPINEA^® offers professional and high-quality education for endoscopic spine treatment specialists, worldwide. The ESPINEA^® Training and Education Centers are located in Karlsruhe, Germany in the newly opened joimax^® building, and in Irvine, CA, where joimax^® opened new labs and training rooms last November.

Anthony Yeung, M.D., known to his many friends and admirers as “Tony,” is the 2012 recipient of the Parviz Kambin Award, given by the Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery (SMISS) to honor outstanding surgeons in the field of endoscopic spine surgery. The Society held the ceremony during its annual meeting, September 23, and Yeung’s son, Christopher Yeung, M.D., accepted the award for his father.

SMISS established the Kambin Award, in collaboration with joimax®, to recognize the surgeons who have successfully performed more than 1,000 cases of endoscopic spinal surgery, trained more than 100 surgeons in the procedure, (in both cases specifically transforaminal surgery), published in numerous scientific publications and professional journals and given presentations at leading congresses. Finally, the recipient must demonstrate a strong commitment to clinical research and training. Choll Kim, M.D. and executive director, Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, wrote, “Tony is my hero and certainly deserves such an award.”

The award is named for Parviz Kambin, M.D. to recognize and honor his pioneering work that paved the way for minimally invasive endoscopic spine surgery. Kambin identified the unique safe access point to the spinal canal now known as the “Kambin Triangle.” Previous awardees are Parviz Kambin, M.D., professor of Orthopedic Surgery, Drexel University; Michael Schubert, M.D., APEX Spine Center, Munich, Germany; and Menno Iprenburg, M.D., Veenhuizen, Netherlands.

SMISS is the only society dedicated solely to advancing minimally invasive spine surgery. Endoscopic spine surgery constitutes but a small portion of SMISS’ overall educational content regarding minimally invasive spine surgery. SMISS’ primary role is to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and information.

Orthopedics This Week – Yeung Honered by SMISS

Irvine, CA and Karlsruhe, Germany – November 9^th, 2016 – joimax^®, the global acting German developer and marketer of technologies and training methods for endoscopic minimally-invasive spinal surgery, today announced 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its Vaporflex^® and Legato^® electrosurgical probes with radiowave technology for open and endoscopic spine surgery.

Those joimax^® Electrosurgical Instruments are comprised of a series of instruments to facilitate the delivery of electrical energy from an RF generator to the patient tissue for use in cutting and/or coagulation of tissue. All Vaporflex^® and Legato^® probes use radio frequency which is generated by high oscillating electrical current received from a commercially available RF generator.

The new Vaporflex^® system is optimized for versatile use due to different lengths, diameters and probe tips to allow endoscopic transforaminal and interlaminar procedures. It is both compatible and cleared also for the use with all Endovapor^®/SurgiMax^® and SurgiMax^® Plus electrosurgical units and enables an easy swap of the Triggerflex^® to the new Vaporflex^® system. The bipolar Vaporflex^® probes can easily be adopted to the complete range of joimax^® systems. joimax^® offers all its probes in a kit containing a sterilization tray, the hand piece as well as a shaft and a connection cable.

The monopolar and bipolar Legato^® probes which support the rhizotomy procedures with the existing Multiuse and both newly launched products MultiZYTE^® RT for Facet Joint Denervation and MultiZYTE^® SI for SI Joint Therapy.

“Both the Vaporflex^® and Legato^® probes are ready for several generations of radiofrequency generators” says Wolfgang Ries, CEO and founder of joimax^®. “Spinal surgeons are now enabled to perform the range of joimax^® procedures with even more flexibility and ergonomics in the USA as well. This way we further enhance surgical interventions in endoscopic minimally-invasive spinal surgery” he continues.