Although Kinetic Concepts' (NYSE:KCI) key patent trial has yet to begin, the stock of this wound-care specialist has been lurching up as investors apparently get a little more comfortable with the risk-reward tradeoff. And that is, perhaps, a little bit surprising. Because although nobody doubts that this is a high-potential market, losing that patent case would be a severe blow to the company's ability to realize that potential.

For now, though, growth continues. Revenue this quarter was up 14%, as rental revenue rose almost 16% and sales revenue rose 10%. Broken out a different way, domestic revenue was up 18% and overseas revenue was up 5% (after a negative 4% currency impact). And making three times a charm, worldwide VAC (vacuum-assisted closure) revenue was up 23%, while surfaces revenue was down 7% (because of, in large part, a significant sale to the Canadian government last year).

On the profitability side, gross margins were up a little, while operating margins ended up flat with last year. That's not exactly great news for a growing med-tech company, but it's also true that margins would have improved a little were it not for the stock compensation expense.

For a somewhat obscure company, there's a fair bit of controversy and discussion here. For starters, the company continues to try to get the CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) to change reimbursement coding in such a way as to differentiate the company's technology from its possibly infringing rival BlueSky. So far at least, this effort hasn't been very successful.

There was also some concern over a recent patent settlement with Paul Hartmann AG. Under the agreement, Hartmann will drop an appeal against a Kinetic patent in Europe in exchange for a distribution agreement and some cash. While the deal makes a certain amount of sense (Kinetic gets a better patent this way and distribution into Eastern Europe), some have perceived this as a possible sign that Kinetic doesn't have full faith in its IP. I don't buy that interpretation personally, but the idea is floating around out there.

Kinetic Concepts isn't quite the binary outcome like many small one-product med-tech stocks, but then, neither is it as stable or secure as a big med-tech stock like Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) or Abbott (NYSE:ABT). The company will most likely survive an adverse patent ruling, but there's no question that would make for a tougher road ahead. When considering this stock, investors should keep in mind that it's not easy to project the outcome of this kind of trial.

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Fool contributor Stephen Simpson has no financial interest in any stocks mentioned (that means he's neither long nor short the shares).