Press Releases

SMALL BONE INNOVATIONS, INC. TO CONDUCT LIMB SALVAGE WORKSHOP AT ANNUAL DIABETIC FOOT CONFERENCE IN LOS ANGELES

• SBi is a provider of products & education services to Foot & Ankle surgeons treating diabetic feet
• Technology helps reduce number of lower limb amputations
• Annual global Diabetic Foot Conference (DF Con 09) with 800 delegates

NEW YORK, NY: March 18, 2009: Small Bone Innovations, Inc. (SBi), a single-source provider of innovation, products, technology and education for the small bone & joint sector, is staging a limb salvage technology workshop tomorrow at the annual Diabetic Limb Conference (DF Con 09) at the Renaissance Hotel, Los Angeles, CA. SBi is providing an educational grant for a workshop on March 19th entitled Essentials of Circular Fixation for the Treatment of Charcot Deformity and Damage Control Orthopedics. The workshop is chaired by Dr. Dane K. Wukich, MD, Chief of Foot & Ankle Surgery, Department of Orthopaedics, at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. SBi expects over 50 attendees at the workshop.

A wide spectrum of generalists and specialists from around the world who diagnose and manage the diabetic foot are being offered a hands-on opportunity to study the techniques in diabetic foot salvage based on the pioneering work of Professor Gavriil A. Ilizarov.

In addition to workshops in the U.S., SBi also sponsors week-long programs at the Russian Ilizarov Scientific Center for Restorative Traumatology and Orthopedics in Kurgan, Siberia. The Center is the largest in the world specializing in treatment of complex orthopedic problems and best known for its practice and teaching of The Ilizarov Method. To date, more than 60 U.S. Foot & Ankle surgeons have enhanced their skills in limb salvage procedures through the SBi program.

SBi offers a range of lower limb, external fixation products under its RingFIX™ brand that utilizes these techniques. The RingFIX system is used extensively in the U.S. by Foot & Ankle surgeons, including specialists at a growing number of limb salvage centers catering to patients suffering from a condition known as Charcot Foot. Patients with advanced cases of Charcot Foot are at a high risk for amputation.

Anthony G. Viscogliosi, Chairman & CEO of SBi, said: “It is very encouraging to have the opportunity to bring vital, often life-changing technology to surgeons attending the annual DF Con event. It reflects our value creation thesis of being data-driven, surgeon-centric and patient focused in addressing unmet clinical needs in orthopedics.”

The total annual economic cost of diabetes in 2007 was estimated to be $174 billion in the U.S. Medical expenditures totaled $116 billion and were comprised of $27 billion for diabetes care, $58 billion for chronic diabetes-related complications, and $31 billion for excess general medical costs, according to statistics published by the American Diabetes Association.

Founder and Co-chair of DF Con 09, David G. Armstrong, DPM, PhD, Professor of Surgery and Director of the Southern Arizona Limb Salvage Alliance (SALSA) University of Arizona College of Medicine, said: “Every 30 seconds, a limb is lost somewhere in the world due to diabetes. Surgeons must have every weapon in their arsenal to stem this tsunami. For this reason, it is heartening to see unique labs and workshops like the SBi program providing training that will no doubt go a long way to saving limbs and improving the lives of our patients with diabetes.”

SBi’s President, Thomas A. Crowley, Jr. noted: “Surgeons believe that a significant proportion of the more than 70,000 non-traumatic lower limb amputations performed in the U.S. each year could be eliminated through early detection of Charcot Foot and subsequent use of external fixation systems.”

Scott Ludecker, Vice President of SBi’s Worldwide Diabetes & Limb Preservation Systems, added: "I am pleased to bring together a world class faculty this week to provide an unprecedented educational opportunity for physicians who care for diabetic patients. Given the exponential worldwide growth in diabetes and the complications that follow, our educational and product-related contributions to limb salvage techniques are making a difference in these patients’ lives every day.”

DF Con 09 is being sponsored by Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, Burbank, CA and is expected to attract more than 800 delegates from the U.S. and 50 other countries. The annual meeting serves as a premier gathering place for disseminating new research and practical knowledge on diabetic foot issues and on the fight against diabetes-related amputations.

About Small Bone Innovations, Inc.
Small Bone Innovations, Inc. (SBi) was founded in 2004 by Viscogliosi Brothers, LLC, (VB), a New York-based merchant banking firm that specializes in the musculoskeletal/orthopedics sector. VB created SBi as the first company to focus purely on small bones & joints. By integrating established companies and professionals in the field, SBi offers a broad, clinically proven portfolio of products and technologies to treat trauma and diseases in small bones & joints. Today, SBi has more than 130 employees at facilities in New York, NY, Morrisville, PA, Bourg-en-Bresse, France and Donaueschingen, Germany, among other locations worldwide.

For more information on SBi, please visit: www.totalsmallbone.com

About Viscogliosi Bros., LLC
Established by Marc R. Viscogliosi, John J. Viscogliosi and Anthony G. Viscogliosi in New York City in 1999, Viscogliosi Bros., LLC (VB) was the first venture capital/private equity and merchant banking firm dedicated exclusively to the musculoskeletal/orthopedics sector of the health care industry. As principals of VB, the Viscogliosi brothers have a combined total of nearly half a century of experience analyzing and investing in the musculoskeletal/orthopedics sector.

VB’s mission is to create, build and finance companies founded on innovations developed by surgeons and uniquely focused on “life changing” musculoskeletal/orthopedic technologies. VB has worldwide surgeon, industry and trade relationships, and significant financial expertise in the musculoskeletal/orthopedic sector. The Viscogliosi brothers have pioneered more than 170 financial, strategic and management initiatives for companies in the musculoskeletal/orthopedic sector, from start-up, seed and development stage all the way to exit. These initiatives have helped people live better lives through the orthopedic and spinal products developed, marketed and sold by the companies VB has assisted in developing and financing.

For more information about VB, please visit: www.vbllc.com

Forward-looking statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of risks and uncertainties impacting SBi’s business including increased competition; the ability of SBi to expand its operations and to attract and retain qualified professionals; technological obsolescence; general economic conditions; and other risks.