As of this week, medical device manufacturer Smith & Nephew has combined its endoscopy and orthopedic businesses into a single "advanced surgical devices" division.

The company's customers won't see a change in the way it does business with them, though. "The relationship that [healthcare facilities], or their surgeons, or their nurses, or their management, have with their local sales representatives is an important one, and we're going to maintain that, and improve on it if we can," says Joe Metzger, senior vice president of corporate communications for the advanced surgical devices division. "We're going to work harder on delivering the technology, service and support they depend on."

Mike Frazzette, president of the Andover, Mass.-based endo unit, is slated to lead the new, combined division, while Joseph DeVivo, president of the Memphis, Tenn.-bsed ortho unit, will leave the company in August. No job cuts are expected in the restructuring, the company told the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

David Bernard