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New York-Presbyterian Hospital Conducts First Totally Endoscopic Coronary Artery Bypass Using ESTECH RAP CatheterDANVILLE, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--Jan. 22, 2002- ESTECH, Inc. announced that surgeons at New York-Presbyterian Hospital's Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center successfully completed the first closed-chest, totally endoscopic coronary artery bypass (TECAB) procedure ever performed in the U.S. using the Intuitive Surgical robot and the ESTECH Remote Access Perfusion (RAP) Catheter.The surgery was successfully performed by Dr. Michael Argenziano, Director of Robotic Cardiac Surgery, and Dr. Craig Smith, Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery, on a 71-year-old retired businessman from New Jersey. He was the first patient in the U.S. to receive robotically assisted coronary artery bypass surgery without a chest incision of any kind. The surgery required four small access sites for the robotic arms and a small groin incision for the catheter. Dr. Michael Argenziano said, "The ESTECH Remote Access Perfusion Catheter allowed us to support the patient during the robotic procedure through a small incision in the leg. This is critical technology for enabling closed chest and less invasive heart surgery techniques." Recent published articles have shown a reduction in stroke with the usage of the ESTECH RAP catheter. Dr. Argenziano went on to comment, "Innovative technology such as the ESTECH RAP Catheter will help us to develop safer and less traumatic cardiac surgical procedures." Traditionally, heart bypass surgeries require a large 8- to 10-inch incision through the chest wall. In contrast, TECAB procedures using the Intuitive and ESTECH systems require only three or four pencil-sized holes made between the ribs. Through these small holes, two robotic "arms" and a camera system gain exposure to the heart, allowing the surgeon to perform surgery without opening the chest. The ESTECH RAP Catheter is designed to deliver oxygenated blood to patients undergoing "stopped heart" surgical procedures without requiring an opening through the chest. The RAP Catheter is inserted through a small access site in the groin. The catheter is then guided into the aorta and provides oxygenated blood to the body. Instead of clamping the aorta to block blood flow as in conventional procedure, the ESTECH RAP Catheter occludes the aorta by simple inflation of an atraumatic balloon. ESTECH CEO Art Bertolero commented, "We are very pleased to see our products performing so well in this ground-breaking procedure. ESTECH's products and our technical support are proving to be critical elements advancing Least Invasive Cardiac Surgery. The RAP Catheter is just one of our technologies that enables cardiac surgeons to perform these less traumatic and safer surgical procedures. We are also very excited about our heart stabilization products that allow surgeons to operate on a beating heart through small incisions." About ESTECH ESTECH, Inc. is a private company headquartered in San Ramon, Calif., and offers a complete system of products for "Least Invasive Cardiac Surgery"(R) (LICS) for both beating heart and stopped heart surgical approaches. The company's beating heart products have been used in more than 25,000 procedures. Information on ESTECH is available at www.estech.com. Note to Editors: ESTECH, Inc. and "Least Invasive Surgery" are trademarks of Endoscopic Technologies, Inc.
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