Synthes Partners with Materialise in Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery

WEST CHESTER, Pennsylvania and LEUVEN, Belgium, March 28, 2011 - Synthes, Inc. (SWX: SYST.VX), a leading global medical device
company in orthopaedic trauma, spine, and cranio-maxillofacial (CMF), and
Materialise NV, a leader in the field of rapid industrial and medical
prototyping and innovative software solutions, today announced an exclusive
partnership for the development and distribution of Materialise's solutions
for Cranio-Maxillofacial (CMF) surgery.

Under the partnership, Materialise will provide pre-operative
planning services directly to the surgeon via interactive, web-based
collaboration tools, and will fabricate intra-operative guides and anatomical
models. Synthes will distribute these intra-operative guides and models and
continue to deliver patient specific surgical implants.

The combination of Materialise's continuing commitment to
research and development in the field of pre-operative planning and Synthes'
track record as a leader in medical device manufacturing, including
patient-specific implants for CMF surgery, makes this an excellent
partnership for both companies.

Michel Orsinger, President and CEO of Synthes, commented on
the partnership: "This partnership will allow Synthes to continue our mission
to improve patient care by optimizing operating room time and by improving
the precision of the surgery. Materialise and Synthes share the same core
values: a desire to assist the patient and surgeon, as well as quality,
innovation, education, and integrity. The partnership will reinforce our
position as an innovator in CMF."

Wilfried Vancraen, General Manager, Materialise, is delighted
with the partnership: "This partnership supports Materialise's mission for a
better and healthier world, and the technology we offer adds tremendous value
through patient-specific solutions in the complex field of CMF surgery. With
Synthes' emphasis on surgeon education and their ability to offer our
planning services and products globally we have found the right partner in
Synthes as the global leader in CMF to be able to take this forward-thinking
technology to the next level."

Synthes: A leading medical device company

Synthes is a leading global medical device company,
specialized in the development, manufacturing and marketing of instruments,
implants and biomaterials for the surgical fixation, correction and
regeneration of the human skeleton and its soft tissues.

Image Bank

A selection of product and company images can be found here
(www.synthes.com/html/Media-Corner.7325.0.html?&L=0).

About Materialise

The Materialise Group is best known for its activities in the
field of rapid industrial and medical prototyping. Apart from having the
largest capacity of rapid prototyping equipment in Europe, Materialise enjoys
a worldwide reputation as provider of innovative software solutions.

More information

cmf@materialise.be or www.materialise.com/CMF

Click here to see the Restrictions Subject to US Securities
Law (www.materialise.com/view/en/3987618)

For further information please contact

Gilgian Eisner, Investor Relations, Synthes, Inc.

Phone +41-32-720-47-45, Fax +41-32-720-48-11

Email: investor.relations@synthes.com, www.synthes.com

For further information please contact:
Gilgian Eisner, Investor Relations, Synthes, Inc.,
Phone +41-32-720-47-45, Fax +41-32-720-48-11,
Email: investor.relations at synthes.com