Innovative Cardica Technology for Microlobectomy Procedures Featured in Presentation at STS/AATS Tech-Con 2016
January 25 2016 - 4:06PM
Cardica, Inc. (Nasdaq:CRDC) today announced that the company’s
MicroCutter XCHANGE® 30, the world’s first and only five-millimeter
surgical stapler with the capability to articulate 80 degrees, was
featured in a “Lung Surgery of the Future” presentation by Joel
Dunning, M.D., cardiothoracic surgeon at James Cook University
Hospital, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery in Middlesbrough,
U.K., at The Society of Thoracic Surgeons and American Association
for Thoracic Surgery’s Tech Conference (STS/AATS Tech-Con) on
Saturday in Phoenix, Ariz.
Approximately 150,000 thoracic surgical procedures are performed
in the U.S. each year in patients undergoing treatment for lung
cancer. Dr. Dunning has pioneered an innovative new procedure
called microlobectomy, an even less invasive technique for
minimally invasive video-assisted thoracic surgery, or VATS.
Microlobectomy is an innovative adaptation of well-established
techniques in which the lungs are accessed through small incisions,
or access ports, made between the patient’s ribs. In adults, ribs
are spaced eight to ten millimeters apart and a delicate nerve runs
under each rib. During traditional lobectomy (removal of a lobe of
the lung) procedures, where a twelve-millimeter surgical stapler is
used, this nerve is repeatedly squeezed between the rib and
surgical stapler at the access ports. Trauma to the nerve leads to
post-operative pain and longer recovery times.
In his presentation, Dr. Dunning describes microlobectomy, a
procedure in which a utility incision is placed below the ribs.
During the procedure, Cardica’s MicroCutter XCHANGE 30 reaches the
lungs through smaller access ports between the patient’s ribs,
reducing trauma to the adjacent nerves. “Due to its
much less invasive nature, microlobectomy promises reduced patient
pain, faster recoveries, and shortened hospital stays. Cardica’s
MicroCutter XCHANGE 30 is a key enabling technology for the
technique,” said Dr. Dunning. “The device is easy to use, with a
narrow curved tip that makes it very easy to get the surgical
stapler around the vessel with a minimum of tissue dissection and
trauma. Its wide range of articulation enables precise
placement and maneuverability in tight spots. In addition, the
five-millimeter shaft allows the surgeon to reduce their port size
to only 5mm in the intercostal spaces rather than larger 12mm
conventional ports.”
“Microlobectomy is a significant advance in minimally invasive
thoracic surgery today,” said Julian Nikolchev, president and CEO
of Cardica. “The enthusiasm of the clinical community at STS/AATS
for the potential of microlobectomy with the MicroCutter XCHANGE 30
is encouraging to the Cardica team. We are committed to supporting
surgeons in advancing minimally invasive techniques, which hold the
potential for improved patient outcomes and lower procedure
costs.”
To view Dr. Dunning’s complete presentation at Tech-Con and for
more information about microlobectomy, visit
www.microlobectomy.com.
About the MicroCutter XCHANGE 30 The
MicroCutter XCHANGE 30, the world’s first and only five-millimeter
surgical stapler that articulates to 80 degrees, is a
cartridge-based minimally invasive surgical stapling system. The
device’s small size and articulation range is designed to enhance
the surgeon’s access and visualization at the surgical site, and to
mitigate limitations on the advancement of minimally invasive
surgical approaches created by larger stapling devices. As the
smallest-profile articulating stapler available today, the
MicroCutter XCHANGE 30 may reduce the amount of dissection and
tissue handling required to position the stapler in confined
spaces, enabling access to difficult-to-reach anatomy.
About Cardica Cardica designs and
manufactures proprietary stapling and anastomotic devices for
cardiac and minimally invasive surgical procedures. Cardica's
technology portfolio is intended to reduce operating time and
facilitate minimally invasive and robot-assisted surgeries.
Cardica’s MicroCutter XCHANGE® 30, that includes a
cartridge-based articulating surgical stapling device with a
five-millimeter shaft diameter and staples, is manufactured and
cleared for use in the United States for transection and resection
in multiple open or minimally invasive urologic, thoracic and
pediatric surgical procedures, as well as application for
transection, resection and/or creation of anastomoses in the small
and large intestine and the transection of the appendix. The
MicroCutter XCHANGE 30 White Cartridge staple has application in
vascular tissue. In addition, Cardica manufactures and markets
its automated anastomosis systems, the C-Port®Distal Anastomosis
Systems and PAS-Port® Proximal Anastomosis System for coronary
artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, and has shipped over 56,500
units throughout the world.
Forward-Looking Statements The statements in
this press release regarding Cardica’s beliefs as to the benefits
expected to be obtained from the use of the MicroCutter XCHANGE®
30, are "forward-looking statements." There are a number of
important factors that could cause results to differ materially
from those indicated by these forward-looking statements,
including: that through the use of the MicroCutter XCHANGE 30,
microlobectomy will reduce patient pain, result in faster
recoveries, or result in shortened hospital stays; as well as other
risks detailed from time to time in Cardica’s reports filed with
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30,
2015, under the caption “Risk Factors,” filed on November 12, 2015.
Cardica expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to
release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking
statements contained herein. You are encouraged to read Cardica’s
reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission,
available at www.sec.gov.
Contact:
Bob Newell
Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer
(650) 331-7133
investors@cardica.com