This Device Has Been Around for 20 Years

It comes in different sizes and configurations now, but the Gore Excluder AAA Endoprosthesis, which seals off abdominal aneurysms from inside the aorta, hasn’t changed radically since it was introduced to the European market in 1997. The endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) device has been implanted in more than 300,000 patients diagnosed with an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), according to its manufacturer, W.L. Gore & Associates. Before EVAR, patients with AAA had two options: major surgery to repair the aneurysm or crossed fingers. “The number of patients who were not candidates for surgery really drove the early experience of EVAR,” Eric Zacharias, vascular business leader for Gore, told MD+DI Qmed. “And now it's really a procedure that, particularly in the U.S., it’s the primary choice of patients if they’re given the option of having their aneurysm treated.” The aorta descends from the heart into the abdomen, splitting in two to deliver blood to the legs. AAA’s typically develop below the kidneys, closer to that split. Gore’s EVAR device is made of two components: the trunk section that anchors at the proximal end of the aneurysm and descends into one of the aortic branches in the leg; and the contralateral leg segment that fits inside the trunk and descends into the other leg. To place the device, the surgeon makes one small incision on either side of the groin and uses catheters to thread the device into the anatomy. The biggest change to Gore’...
Source: MDDI - Category: Medical Devices Authors: Tags: Implants Design Source Type: news