Orthopaedic procedure volumes, and by extension sales of knee and hip implants, have been strongly dented by the number of COVID-19 cases. With vaccination campaigns now well underway, there are hopes that routine healthcare can resume in the U.S. and other key markets as this year progresses, delivering a boost to sales of the devices.
The UBS survey suggests it will be a bit of a slog to get back to 2019 levels. Collectively, the polled surgeons expect volumes to be down 16% in the first quarter compared to the same period of 2019. The surgeons foresee the shortfall compared to 2019 volumes shrinking throughout the year, going from 10% to 5% to 2% over the final three quarters of 2021.
