Weekly Post On New Medical Devices

These three products are already available on the market:


MyoSure ™ Hysteroscopic Tissue Removal

The MyoSure™ instrument is used to remove fibroids from the uterus. However, the fibroid removal procedure with this tool is decidedly different .

In the past, doctors often recommended that patients have extensive surgery to remove fibroids. It was far more invasive and required extended recovery time, sometimes up to 4 weeks. Up to now, there hasn’t been a surgical instrument available that could be used in a doctor’s office.

Enter the opportunity to perform a myomectomy procedure in the doctor’s office with a minimum of discomfort to the patient. This happens because the MyoSure™ instrumentation travels through a natural opening, the vagina, to remove the fibroid, bit by bit, (a process called morselization), and suction it away until it is completely removed. There are no external sutures or incisions.

With a device of this type, no energy is utilized that could burn either the doctor or the patient, as sometimes happens with electrocautery tools. In another positive move, the chance of a uterine puncture is eliminated because the curette portion of the device is located on the side of the tool and not at the top.

Additionally, no general anesthesia is used and procedure time is reduced (sometimes only taking 15 minutes to complete), offering quicker recovery time for the patient.

As for reimbursement, costs of procedure time and additional staff in the hospital are eliminated, reducing costs to the patient.

To finalize, this is a win/win for both the patient and the doctor.

Please visit www.interlacemedical.com for more information.

EsophyX®

EsophyX® is another instrument which uses natural orifices of the body to complete a surgical procedure. In this instance, the device is used for treating the chronic digestive condition GERD. Oftentimes, the condition of hiatal hernia is present as well. Fortunately, this instrument helps to correct that too.

As many of you already know, GERD is a condition that results in acid reflux. This condition occurs due to an anatomic deficiency at the gastro-intestinal junction, basically a valve which does not control the stomach acid from flowing up into the esophagus. It is known that when this condition is left untreated, the patient can become a candidate for esophageal cancer. The EsophyX® device is used to recreate a new valve that will keep the acid in the stomach where it belongs.

No incisions are made in this surgical technique because the surgeon enters the body through the mouth. This instrument is used with an endoscope and a camera so that the physician can see exactly what is going on inside the stomach as the new valve is being made. The EsophyX® device actually takes small portions of tissue, folds them in a specific way and fastens them to stay in place. The formal name for the folding technique is called Transoral Incisionless Fundoplication. After the surgical procedure, the body takes over and makes these changes a bit more secure through tissue regrowth.

Remarkably, the surgery takes about an hour. Patients are able to discontinue all medications immediately following the surgery and return to work in a couple of days.

This tool is a really novel device which helps to improve the quality of life for many patients without incisions or internal dissection.

Please visit www.endogastricsolutions.com for more information.

Altrazeal™ Transforming Powder Dressing with Nanoflex™ Technology

Conditions such as chronic leg and foot ulcers, exuding surgical incisions, skin grafts and burns now have a new solution. Altrazeal™ is a different new product created from a nanoparticle technology. The product, easily applied by a doctor, remains in place to help wounds heal using the body’s regenerative abilities.

Altrazeal™ comes in the form of a powder that is sprinkled onto an exuding wound. The powder combines with the fluids draining from the wound and forms a sterile dressing over the wound itself. There, it remains until the patient’s body sloughs it off gradually as it loses skin cells. The dressing provides a moist healing barrier which doesn’t allow bacteria to enter the wound because of its tight molecular structure and resulting small pore size.

There are a number of great clinical photos on their website to show the efficacy of the product. One of the great things about using this product is that it causes something called a wound vacuum effect. This device brings a great deal of oxygen into the wound, allows for transpiration of fluids from the wound and repels bacteria, all while remaining flexible and strong across the surface.

This product is FDA approved and has been on the market since 2008. Altrazeal™ is another product offering that is relatively new to the market which reduces the cost of continuous medical care for ulcers. These types of conditions can often reduce any patient’s insurance benefits due to the nearly constant care required to manage their treatment. Products like this are helpful in situations with diabetic patients where there is the possibility of loss of a limb from ulcers that have not responded to other treatments.

Please visit www.altrazeal.com for more information.