“Our Products Help Patients Get Back to Daily Life”

Mego Afek is one of Israel’s veteran medical device manufacturers. The company, fully owned by Kibbutz Afek in Western Galilee, was founded in the 1960's and quickly became known in the global medical device industry. "Mego Afek is a seasoned player in the worldwide medical device sector. We introduced our flagship brand, Lympha Press®, in the early 1980s. Lympha Press® immediately broke new ground in the USA, Europe and Asia as a revolutionary “lymphedema pump” for treatment of chronic lymphedema and venous insufficiency,” says Hoffer. “We’ve expanded our product line since those early days, adding new, innovative products that improve patient quality of life.” Today Lympha Press® is one of the most recognized and popular systems of its kind globally; so much so, Hoffer proudly notes, that “Lympha Press® has become the generic term for this type of therapeutic system. We are constantly evolving, with ongoing research and development to provide a wide variety of medical treatments, including preventive medicine, sports, and aesthetics."

Hoffer has been at the helm of Mego Afek for the past four years after a long career in the medical device industry. "I entered this field 16 years ago,” he says. “At one point I was CEO of a company in the Defense sector, but my desire to return to the medical device world led me to Mego Afek. The ability to connect with patients and improve their lives is very rewarding, and unparalleled in any other business.” Today, Mego Afek employs approximately 160 people in Israel and an additional 120 employees in its USA subsidiary. "In 2021, recognizing the USA as one of our primary growth engines, we made a joint effort to strengthen our distribution pipeline and presence in the market there. We are also very active in Europe and Asia and are expanding within those territories as well.

"With all our international focus, we are very proud of our company's Israeli character,” Hoffer continues. “The company is owned by Kibbutz Afek, and we manufacture here in Israel. Our production lines are located right next to my office. Mego Afek does everything independently: we develop the products, manufacture them, and market them around the world.”

Medical devices for effective treatment
Lymphedema is a chronic disorder that results from dysfunction of the lymphatic vessels in the body. Lymphatic vessels pick up and transport excess fluid in the tissues and return it to the blood circulation. When these vessels are damaged or don’t work properly, fluid can accumulate in the affected body area (most often in the arms or legs) causing chronic edema (swelling). If left untreated, this chronic edema can cause hardening of the skin, infections, disfigurement, and loss of mobility. "Lymphedema needs to be managed, often daily, to prevent worsening of symptoms,” Hoffer explains. “Unlike temporary swelling - for example, a sprained ankle – lymphedema swelling won’t disappear on its own and won’t resolve by elevating the limb. The body’s lymphatic flow and uptake need to be increased with daily external massage and compression, and here’s where Lympha Press® comes in.”

The technical term for Lympha Press® is “advanced pneumatic compression therapy device,” and it works by inflating and deflating an inflatable garment that is worn around the area to be treated. The Lympha Press® controller fills and empties strategically oriented air chambers in the garment, in a special sequence that applies a gentle, directional compression massage to the area. This treatment, designed in consultation with leading specialist physicians and therapists, works on the principles of in-clinic professional lymphatic massage and lymphatic bandaging, and is easy for a patient to self-administer in the comfort of home. Lympha Press® treatment has been proven highly effective in multiple clinical studies. “The effectiveness and ease of use of Lympha Press® have made it a favored treatment modality among patients, with over 88% of them still using the system daily after two years – remarkable for a home care therapeutic device,” Hoffer says. “Lymphedema is a chronic, incurable disease that can have a profound effect on patients’ quality of life. Treatment with Lympha Press® can make the difference between spending all day at home, in isolation with limited mobility, and being able to move around freely, to travel, to work and get back to daily activities.”

Lympha Press® is also used to treat chronic venous stasis ulcers, which are wounds in the skin of the legs caused by chronic venous insufficiency disease. In a recent clinical study at Mt Sinai Hospital in New York City, patients with chronic, stubborn, nonhealing wounds that did not respond to other treatment modalities achieved complete wound closure after eight weeks of daily at-home Lympha Press® therapy.

A variety of products – medical and aesthetic
In addition to Lympha Press®, Mego Afek offers other products for circulatory enhancement, including Phlebo Press® DVT. This system is used to prevent deep vein thrombosis - DVT blood clots - in patients who are hospitalized, undergoing surgical procedures, or are recovering.

Mego Afek also sells its Ballancer® product line worldwide. As the name suggests, this system is used for aesthetic, spa, and medi-spa treatments, leveraging the company’s technology to engage the lymphatic system to reduce swelling, improve skin tone and to promote relaxation. Hoffer says this system has a lot of celebrity fans, especially in the USA. “Paris Hilton is a big fan of the Ballancer® product line. Celebrities with the means to acquire it, won’t do without it. They even travel with it.”

Another popular product manufactured at Mego Afek is a “sports pump” for use by athletes for recovery after workouts. This system is sold in the USA without a prescription and is intended for professional athletes as well as amateur enthusiasts who get sore after a workout. “Using the same principles as Lympha Press®, the system reduces lactic acid, muscular fatigue and pain, speeding recovery for the next athletic activity,” Hoffer says. “Watch major athletes on the sidelines of the NBA, NFL and college sports and you may see one of our products in action.”

In collaboration with Mego Afek