MAQUET's VASOVIEW EVH reduces rates of leg infection in CABG patients

MAQUET Cardiovascular LLC, a leading provider of cardiovascular technologies, today announced that study results published in the January 2010 Annals of Thoracic Surgery demonstrated that coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patients who undergo Endoscopic Vessel Harvesting (EVH) demonstrate similar long-term clinical outcomes as patients who undergo traditional "open" vein harvest (OVH) but have significantly reduced rates of leg infection.

These findings are based on observational data from 5,825 heart surgery patients whose saphenous vein bypass grafts were obtained using MAQUET's EVH VASOVIEW technology  (short, approximate 1" length incision) or OVH (continuous, longitudinal incision, or multiple smaller "bridging" incisions) at Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, between June 1, 1998, and May 31, 2007.  The results of this study add to the large body of clinical data that EVH offers significant patient benefits, including faster healing, less postoperative pain and scarring, and reduced risk of wound complications.

"The objective of this study was to assess the impact that EVH has on outcomes following CABG in a large sample of patients who were followed for an average of 2.5 years," said Imtiaz Ali, M.D., principal investigator of the study and staff surgeon at Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre.  "The short-term benefits of EVH are well documented. The absence of any association between EVH and poor long-term survival and cardiac events in our study indicates that EVH is safe and does not compromise outcomes in the long run."

"This well-designed and conducted study of the VASOVIEW Endoscopic Vessel Harvesting System demonstrates the clinical value of a technology and procedure that we have been committed to continually improving over the past decade for the benefit of patients undergoing cardiac surgery," said Patrick Walsh, President of MAQUET Cardiovascular's  Cardiac Surgery Business Unit.  "Continued investment in areas that improve patient outcomes is a high-priority for MAQUET."

SOURCE MAQUET Cardiovascular LLC