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Home > About SYNVISC > Repeat Treatment with SYNVISC


Repeat Treatment with SYNVISC®

After experiencing up to 6 months of pain relief and improved function with SYNVISC, your patients may ask about receiving SYNVISC again—and inquire about the safety of another course of treatment.

SYNVISC has a proven safety profile for both first and repeat courses of treatment. Local adverse events for viscosupplements are usually pain and/or swelling in the injected knee. In clinical trials, these events occurred in 6.3% of injections in second courses of injections. The reason for the increased incidence with repeat treatment is unknown, but may be due to the more advanced disease in patients choosing to receive a repeat course of therapy. Adverse events from repeat SYNVISC treatments are mostly mild to moderate in nature, generally subside without clinical intervention, and usually do not prevent long-term clinical efficacy.




Important Safety Information

SYNVISC® (hylan G-F 20) is indicated for the treatment of pain in osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee in patients who have failed to respond adequately to conservative nonpharmacologic therapy and simple analgesics, e.g., acetaminophen. In clinical trials, the most commonly reported adverse events were transient local pain, swelling, and/or effusion in the injected knee. In some cases, these symptoms have been extensive. Other side effects such as rash have been reported rarely.

SYNVISC is contraindicated in patients with known hypersensitivity to hyaluronan products or patients with infections in or around the knee. Use caution when using SYNVISC in patients allergic to avian proteins, feathers, or egg products; who have evidence of venous or lymphatic stasis in the leg to be treated; or who have severe inflammation in the knee joint to be treated. Patients should be advised to avoid strenuous or prolonged weight-bearing activities after treatment. Strict adherence to aseptic technique must be followed to avoid joint infection. The safety and effectiveness of SYNVISC in children and in pregnant or lactating women have not been established. It is unknown whether SYNVISC is excreted in human milk.

View the Complete Prescribing Information for SYNVISC (PDF, 146k)