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Florida Surgeon Completes Successful Series of Patients Using New Minimally Invasive Treatment for Atrial Fibrillation (AF)Dr. Gary Allen Has Used the ESTECH COBRA® Ablation Technology to Perform Over 140 AF Procedures with a Greater Than 85% Cure RateDanville, CA, September, 23 2005- Gary Allen MD, a cardiac surgeon in Orlando Florida is using an innovative new minimally invasive technique for treating Atrial Fibrillation (AF). Dr. Allen has successfully treated a series of 140 chronic (permanent) AF patients with over an 85% cure rate that besides AF had come in for various other cardiac surgery procedures. Equally as impressive, is Dr. Allen's series of seven stand alone AF procedures using the minimally invasive ESTECH COBRA® Adhere Ablation System where upon post discharge, six of the seven patients were in normal sinus rhythm. Dr. Allen stated "Given that more than 2 million people in the U.S. are currently living with AF and another 160,000 new cases are diagnosed every year, I am very excited to be able to offer this new procedure to more of my patients."The technique involves making a simple incision in the chest and inserting two different radiofrequency (RF) ablation devices into the area behind the heart. These devices are then used to heat the outside surface of the heart, creating small, precisely placed scars that block the impulses that cause AF. Patients then spend a few days in the hospital for observation before they are sent home. Dr. Allen went on to say, " I believe the scientific evidence is showing that sole pulmonary vein isolation is not adequate for the chronic patient in AF, it is very important that these more difficult connecting lesions can now be made epicardially. I started performing ablation on patients already coming in for other procedures, and now that they are showing excellent results, I'm comfortable in making this minimally invasive technique available to patients with only AF." Dr Allen's innovative technique involved the use of a Bipolar RF Ablation Clamp to isolate the pulmonary veins and the COBRA® Adhere Ablation System to provide the connecting lesions allowing him to perform a more complete procedure. The COBRA® Adhere System combines proven ablation technology with a novel suction stabilizer designed and manufactured by ESTECH. This innovative technology allows the surgeon to place the device on the epicardial surface of the heart while the heart is beating. ESTECH Chief Technology Officer, David Swanson, Ph.D, commented, "The ability to perform a more complete lesion set using precise temperature control in a minimally invasive fashion gives us a significant advantage over other companies using impedance based technology such as AtriCure (ATRC) and Medtronic (MDT)." Dr. Swanson went on to state, "ESTECH is the only company to offer products for all aspects of RF ablation, including COBRA® endocardial/epicardial probes, bipolar probes, and the COBRA® Adhere family of products." The COBRA® Technology with its unprecedented 14 peer-reviewed journal articles showing as much as a 95% cure rate will make this the AF system of choice for cardiac surgeons. About ESTECH ESTECH headquartered in San Ramon, CA offers tools for least invasive techniques and traditional approaches to the procedures that cardiac surgeons do every day - coronary artery bypass, valve Surgery, atrial ablation and surgical treatment of congestive heart failure. Note to Editors: ESTECH, Inc. and "Cobra" are trademarks owned by or licensed to Endoscopic Technologies, Inc.
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