Arizona Heart Institute Enrolls First Patient in Anaconda(TM) Investigational Study for the Treatment of Abdominal Aorti...( Local Vascular Surgeon Named National...),Health

Local Vascular Surgeon Named National Principal Investigator

PHOENIX, June 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Surgeons from Arizona Heart Institute performed the first procedure in the U.S. Anaconda Phase II Study using the Vascutek Anaconda Stent Graft System, an investigational, minimally invasive treatment for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA).

Leading the study efforts in the U.S. is Julio Rodriguez-Lopez, M.D., Vascular Surgeon, Arizona Heart Institute and Arizona Heart Hospital, and National Principal Investigator. "The Anaconda Stent Graft System has the potential to treat patients with infrarenal AAAs," said Dr. Rodriguez. "In commercial use outside the U.S. Phase II study, this stent graft has been shown to be flexible and repositionable. These are important features when treating patients with infrarenal AAAs," continued Rodriguez.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm, or "ballooning" of the body's main artery, is a serious condition in which the aorta is prone to rupture often causing sudden death. Studies report that emergent, open surgical repair of a ruptured aortic aneurysm carries a 25 to 50 percent risk of death; however, less invasive endovascular procedures involving stent grafts offer a lower-risk alternative to open surgical repair and are associated with minimal blood loss, faster recovery, shorter hospital stays and decreased risk of death.

"Experience with the device, which has been used commercially in nearly 4000 patients in Europe, has been very positive," said Donald B. Reid, M.D., Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, Consultant Vascular Surgeon, and Chairman of Vascular Surgery with Wishaw General Hospital and University of Glasgow, Scotland, U.K., who attended the procedure at Arizona Heart Hospital.

Symptoms of aortic rupture can occur suddenly with severe, sharp pain in the abdomen. Patients who experience these symptoms should se
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