Launch of new ALLEVYN Gentle

Smith & Nephew Plc
12 December 2007


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Smith & Nephew announces international launch of new ALLEVYN* Gentle and 
ALLEVYN* Gentle Border wound dressings

Addition of new products to the ALLEVYN* range provides a complete customer
solution in advanced wound care management

Hull, (U.K), December 12 2007

The Advanced Wound Management business unit of Smith & Nephew (LSE: SN; NYSE:
SNN) announced today that it is launching two new ALLEVYN products to enhance
its existing range of progressive wound care products.

ALLEVYN Gentle and ALLEVYN Gentle Border combine the superior moisture handling
of the ALLEVYN range with the unique benefits of silicone gel and soft-gel
adhesives, helping to deliver the optimal environment for the promotion of
faster wound healing, whilst simultaneously maximising comfort and minimising
pain for the patient.

Commenting on the launch, Joe Woody, President, Smith & Nephew Advanced Wound
Management, said: 'Following the successful launch of ALLEVYN Ag in September,
the addition of the ALLEVYN Gentle products to the brand allows us to provide a
complete range of foam dressings to our customers, ensuring our continued
success in this segment of the market. These two new products will add a new
level of versatility and breadth of application to the ALLEVYN range to support
our customers in providing the best possible patient care.'

ALLEVYN Gentle Border is a silicone gel adhesive hydrocellular foam dressing,
designed to minimise pain to the patient and trauma to the wound at dressing
change with longer wear time for patients with fragile skin; ALLEVYN Gentle is a
soft-gel adhesive hydrocellular foam dressing designed to facilitate easier
application when secondary retention is required and minimises pain on removal
for patients with fragile skin.

'The new ALLEVYN range will further enhance the care that Healthcare
Professionals can provide to patients with problematic wounds. The ALLEVYN
Gentle and Gentle Border variants should help overcome the challenges in
minimising pain for patients with fragile skin including patients with fragile
healing burn wounds,' said Simon Booth, Burn Researcher, Queen Victoria
Hospital, East Grinstead.


Enquiries

Sidonie Myers                                           Tel: [phone]
Head of Communication
Smith & Nephew Advanced Wound Management


Notes for Editors


About ALLEVYN

The ALLEVYN product range helps to facilitate healing by reducing the risk of
maceration (softening and whitening of the skin that increases the risk of
infection) and maintaining an optimal moist wound environment.  ALLEVYN offers
the clinician a clinically proven range of dressings that are cost effective
both for the clinician and the buyer. With the addition of ALLEVYN Gentle and
ALLEVYN Gentle Border to the range, ALLEVYN now expands a clinician's capacity
to minimise pain, maximise patient comfort and optimise healing for more
patients in more situations.

ALLEVYN now further simplifies customer choice, by providing a new, unique and
powerful combination of benefits through each of the four product groups in its
newly defined and extended range.  ALLEVYN has now combined the proven strengths
of its triple-action ALLEVYN technology with a new level of versatility and
breadth of application.

The three new products in the range are:

ALLEVYN Ag - All the benefits of ALLEVYN, with the addition of anti-microbial
silver for use on wounds with suspected infection or infected wounds treated as
per local protocol.

ALLEVYN Gentle Border - All the benefits of ALLEVYN with the addition of a
silicone gel adhesive for use on patients with fragile skin where secondary
retention is not used.

ALLEVYN Gentle - All the benefits of ALLEVYN with the addition of a soft gel
adhesive for use on patients with fragile skin when secondary retention is
required.


About Smith & Nephew

Smith & Nephew Advanced Wound Management is headquartered in the United Kingdom.
The organisation has manufacturing centres in the United Kingdom and Largo, FL.

Smith & Nephew is a global medical technology business, specialising in
Orthopaedic Reconstruction, Orthopaedic Trauma and Clinical Therapies, Endoscopy
and Advanced Wound Management products.  Smith & Nephew is a global leader in
arthroscopy and advanced wound management and is one of the leading global
orthopaedics companies.

Smith & Nephew is dedicated to helping improve people's lives.  The Company
prides itself on the strength of its relationships with its surgeons and
professional healthcare customers, with whom its name is synonymous with high
standards of performance, innovation and trust.  The Company operates in 32
countries around the world.  Annual sales in 2006 were nearly $2.8 billion.


Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain 'forward-looking statements' within the
meaning of the US Private

Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In particular, statements regarding
expected revenue growth and trading margins discussed under 'Outlook' are
forward-looking statements as are discussions of our product pipeline. These
statements, as well as the phrases 'aim', 'plan', 'intend', 'anticipate',
'well-placed', 'believe', 'estimate', 'expect', 'target', 'consider' and similar
expressions, are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such
forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and
other important factors (including, but not limited to, the outcome of
litigation, claims and regulatory approvals) that could cause the actual
results, performance or achievements of Smith & Nephew, or industry results, to
differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed
or implied by such forward-looking statements. Please refer to the documents
that Smith & Nephew has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including Smith &
Nephew's most recent annual report on Form 20F, for a discussion of certain of
these factors.


All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information
available to Smith & Nephew as of the date hereof. All written or oral
forward-looking statements attributable to Smith & Nephew or any person acting
on behalf of Smith & Nephew are expressly qualified in their entirety by the
foregoing. Smith & Nephew does not undertake any obligation to update or revise
any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in Smith &
Nephew's expectation with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or
circumstances on which any such statement is based.


* Trademark of Smith & Nephew. Certain marks registered US Patent and Trademark
Office.


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