Bolder Surgical thinks it’s just right for a new market

LOUISVILLE — Bolder Surgical made a name for itself — as JustRight Surgical — providing tools for a niche set of surgeries.

Now, the Louisville company — officially known as Bolder Surgical Holdings Inc. — has undergone a rebrand as it prepares to expand its market share and provide its tools for a broader scope of surgeries.

The company was first started in 2010 after pediatric surgeon Steven Rothenberg repeatedly requested medical manufacturing companies to make minimally-invasive surgical tools small enough to be used on infants and children. When manufacturers didn’t, due to there being fewer pediatric surgeries and few surgeons who did them, a team of medical tech professionals decided to form their own company — then called JustRight — to make minimally-invasive specialized surgical tools that were miniaturized.

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The company has two main products: a mechanical stapler and an RF energy vessel sealer, both smaller than their adult-surgery counterparts.

To miniaturize adult surgical equipment for to be the right size for children is not an easy task, CEO Robert Kline told BizWest.

“We had to basically reinvent these tools,” Kline said. “When making them smaller, you have to change the physics of them.”

The company’s products have been used in pediatric surgery for the last four years and can be found in more than 150 hospitals across the United States.

“Instruments used for adults go through regular approval processes,” Kline said. “We’re the only company where our vessel sealer is approved for use in pediatrics. Pediatric surgery is about 10 to 15 years behind the minimally invasive adult surgery market. It’s tougher, and there are fewer tools available. I think over time, our products will become the standard of care.”

In addition to its use in pediatrics, there started to be interest in using the company’s products in adult surgery. Because they’re smaller, they can be used in applications that require more delicate, smaller tools. The mechanical stapler has a 5-millimeter end compared with the standard 12-millimeter size. The smaller size means less trauma, which means a better chance of recovery. The company’s vessel sealer, although originally designed for pediatrics, is actually what Kline believes to be a superior product compared with its competitors. It uses less power, is faster and is safer; it has actually been tested and certified to not cause any thermal burns.

“We were being pulled into the adult market because our customers wanted that technology,” Kline said. “We had innovated in a way that had clinical advantages over the standard products.”

Because of the interest in the adult market — and interest to use the products in robotic surgery — JustRight Surgical decided that it was time to rebrand as it explored new market opportunities outside of pediatrics.

“We were called JustRight because we were the perfect fit, like the Goldilocks story,” Kline said of the company’s rebrand. “Our advantage, though, is not just size but the way it works. This industry requires a bold approach, to take risk on something better and different.”

To keep up with the larger market opportunities, Bolder Surgical raised $27 million.

The adult surgical market is a much bigger one, with some household-name competitors. But Kline said that he believes the company will be able to compete, given the advantages their products have.

Bolder Surgical has about 30 employees, with plans to add 10 to 15 more, mostly on the technical and operations side.

“Pediatrics is a small market, and we’re excited to transition to serve both markets,” Kline said. “We’re finding that VC groups see a future in us, as over time we’ve developed a robust and growing business. Today we have enough opportunity to expand the footprint of what we already have. But over the next two to three years, we can explore new technologies.”