Zimmer Hip Company Has Solid Third Quarter

Warsaw, INThe company behind the Zimmer hip replacement devices posted stronger third quarter earnings, despite the slow sales of a number of its medical devices.

Despite the strong showing, Zimmer Holdings Inc. was still unable to meet Wall Street's expectations for the third quarter, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

The medical device giant said that sales of its replacement knees declined during the third quarter of the year and that sales of its Zimmer hip replacements remained flat over the period.

David Dvorak, Zimmer's president and chief executive, said that "challenging global-economic conditions" made the third quarter difficult but also noted that earnings for the period were still solid, reports the news source.

According to Dow Jones, the $12 billion medical device industry has been hurt as patients elect to put off surgery due to the down economy.

While such surgeries often address painful, chronic problems, some of the out-of-pocket costs, coupled with time off from work required, have forced a number of patients to delay their hip and knee replacements.