Launch of New E-Service

Smith & Nephew Plc
11 July 2000


                     SMITH & NEPHEW LAUNCHES NEW E-SERVICE
                           FOR ORTHOPAEDIC SURGEONS

Smith & Nephew plc, the global medical devices company, and eTrauma.com Corp.
today announce that Smith & Nephew has obtained exclusive worldwide sales and
marketing rights to eTrauma.com, the first on-line interactive resource
dedicated to the orthopaedic healthcare community.  Under the terms of the
agreement, Smith & Nephew will immediately acquire a minority equity position
in eTrauma.com Corp. and will have the right to increase its equity position
over time.

The agreement includes rights to eTrauma.com's proprietary RemoteImage
technology, which makes it possible for surgeons to immediately view, high-
quality patient images, including X-rays, CT scans, and MRI's, 24 hours a day,
seven days a week from virtually anywhere in the world via the Internet.

'E-services can provide real advantages to the healthcare community.  We
believe the benefits of eTrauma will be welcomed by orthopaedic professionals
as improving healthcare for their patients, and reducing cost and time in the
emergency room' said Chris O'Donnell, Chief Executive of Smith & Nephew. 'This
technology will help surgeons accurately and speedily diagnose orthopaedic
trauma cases without actually being in the hospital or clinic.  We believe it
will complement our strong position in the trauma market and establish Smith &
Nephew as a source for Internet technology solutions for healthcare
professionals.'

Many orthopaedic trauma cases require referral to a specialist surgeon who has
the injury and the diagnostic images described to them by telephone.  In some
cases, patients have to wait for treatment until the surgeon is able to drive
to the hospital to view the trauma in person.

By using the eTrauma service, hospitals or clinics will be able to send vivid
images of patient films such as X-rays, MRI's and CT scans to a secure server
on the Internet.  Their surgeons then log on to the server using a secure
password, and are able to examine high quality images of the trauma
immediately.  This allows more accurate diagnosis and a more informed decision
on the most appropriate medical treatment.

Smith & Nephew will use its existing global sales network to market the new
service and technology, and will engage a specialized sales force to sell and
install the product, as well as to provide customer support and training.  The
company expects to launch eTrauma.com in the US by 1 August.


Enquiries

Margaret Stewart,
Group Director, Corporate Affairs                Tel: [phone]
Smith & Nephew plc                               Fax: [phone]

Sophie Pender-Cudlip                             Tel: [phone]
Financial Dynamics                               Fax: [phone]


Notes to Editors:

Smith & Nephew (www.smith-nephew.com) is actively developing its e-commerce
business, focussing on a number of key areas.  Three weeks ago it announced it
was to join the Global Healthcare Exchange, a web-based purchasing system for
healthcare providers.

Other areas in which it is active in e-commerce are

Growing sales - through web-enabling technologies, its 2000 strong sales force
worldwide can receive and provide up to date business information, product
support and customer presentations.

Educating healthcare professionals and patients - through the provision of
web-based education and information services for surgeons, other healthcare
professionals and patients using both company managed and externally-sponsored
websites.  Company managed sites include Snwnd.com, endoscopy1.com, and
snortho.  Smith & Nephew also sponsors the knee1.com which is one of the
industry's most successful patient information sites.

Helping the customer - through supporting hospitals and clinics in their
complex ordering needs and requirements for knowledgeable technical support.
Using e-commerce to make customer ordering/inventory management easier and
more effective is a key theme of Smith & Nephew's e-commerce portfolio.  Its
membership of the Global Healthcare Exchange forms part of this portfolio.

eTrauma.com Corp. (www.etrauma.com), is a privately held corporation
headquartered in Deerfield, Florida, and develops products and services for
use by healthcare personnel over the Internet.  eTrauma.com and RemoteImage
are trademarks of eTrauma.com Corp.