FREIBURG, Germany, Sept. 27, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Dextera Surgical Inc. (Nasdaq:DXTR), manufacturer of the smallest-profile and most maneuverable articulating surgical stapling platform on the market for minimally invasive surgery, today announced two presentations featuring the company’s MicroCutter 5/80 surgical stapler at the Annual Meeting of the German Society for Thoracic Surgery in Freiburg, Germany.
The use of the MicroCutter 5/80 to enable new and innovative procedures was discussed during presentations from Davor Stamenovic, M.D., thoracic surgeon at St. Vincentius Krankenhaus in Karlsruhe, Germany, and Thomas Kyriss, M.D., thoracic surgeon at Robert-Bosch-Hospital, Department of Thoracic Surgery in Gerlingen, Germany.
During his presentation on uniportal video assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) for anatomical lung resection, Dr. Stamenovic compared his first experiences performing the innovative procedure, which is enabled by the MicroCutter 5/80, with traditional VATS approaches. The uniportal approach uses a single small incision in the chest to remove cancerous lung tissue. In comparison, traditional VATS approaches require four to five ports located in various places in the patient’s chest to accommodate the variety of surgical tools used during the procedure.
“Uniportal VATS procedures for lung resection promise to reduce patient recovery times, pain, and length of hospital stays eventually even improving the patient’s quality of life,” said Dr. Stamenovic. “The MicroCutter helps make this procedure easier because it offers the widest articulation of all surgical staplers. The MicroCutter’s small size helps increase visibility, reduces dissection of tissue, and avoids interference with other instruments within the narrow operating area inside the chest.”
In a presentation focused on diagnostic wedge resections, Dr. Kyriss introduced a new technique to perform the procedure using only 5mm incisions. Diagnostic wedge resections are performed to remove and collect small portions of cancerous lung tissue and assess the progression of the disease to evaluate treatment options. Today, this procedure requires the use of 12mm trocar ports to accommodate large conventional staplers and the use of a chest drain leading to patient pain and discomfort both from the trocar port itself and the drain to remove fluid from the chest cavity after the procedure. Dr. Kyriss’ technique is enabled by the small size of the MicroCutter 5/80 because it allows the use of small 5mm ports through the rib cage and eliminates the need for a drain.
“Reducing the invasiveness of lung surgery for cancer patients reduces pain and has the potential to improve recovery times and ensure the best possible outcomes,” said Dr. Kyriss. “This new procedure requires the small size and increased articulation provided by the MicroCutter, creating a unique and compelling option for my patients.”
“The MicroCutter has already demonstrated to leading thoracic surgeons around the world that a more flexible, smaller surgical stapler enables less invasive approaches in thoracic surgery,” said Julian Nikolchev, president and CEO of Dextera Surgical. “These new procedures demonstrate the MicroCutter’s potential to enable the migration of some of these procedures to the bedside or to be performed on an outpatient basis, helping surgeons further advance patient care.”
About Dextera Surgical
Dextera Surgical designs and manufactures proprietary stapling devices for minimally invasive surgical procedures. In the U.S., surgical staplers are routinely used in more than one million minimally invasive laparoscopic, video-assisted or robotic-assisted surgical procedures annually.
The company’s signature proprietary technology, the MicroCutter 5/80 Stapler, is the world’s first and only five-millimeter surgical stapler that articulates to 80 degrees in each direction. As the smallest-profile articulating stapler available today, the MicroCutter 5/80 Stapler may reduce the amount of dissection and tissue handling required to position the stapler in confined spaces, enabling access to difficult-to-reach anatomy. The cartridge-based device’s small size and wide articulation range are designed to enhance the surgeon’s access and visualization at the surgical site and to mitigate limitations on the advancement of minimally invasive surgical approaches created by larger stapling devices.
Dextera Surgical also markets the only automated anastomosis devices for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery on the market today: the C-Port® Distal Anastomosis Systems and PAS-Port® Proximal Anastomosis System. These products, sold by Dextera Surgical under the Cardica brand name, have demonstrated long-term reliable clinical performance for more than a decade.
MicroCutter Indication Information
The MicroCutter 5/80 Stapler is manufactured and cleared for use in the United States for transection and resection in multiple open or minimally invasive urologic, thoracic and pediatric surgical procedures, as well as application for transection, resection and/or creation of anastomoses in the small and large intestine, and the transection of the appendix. The MicroCutter 30 White Reload has application in vascular tissue.
Forward-Looking Statements
The statements in this press release regarding Dextera Surgical’s beliefs as to the expected benefits to be achieved from the use of its MicroCutter 5/80 are “forward-looking statements.” There are a number of important factors that could cause Dextera Surgical’s results to differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements, including: that Dextera Surgical may not be successful in its efforts to make the improvements necessary to its enhanced MicroCutter device due to unanticipated technical or other difficulties; risks inherent in obtaining regulatory approvals; as well as other risks detailed from time to time in Dextera Surgical’s reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2016, under the caption “Risk Factors.” Dextera Surgical expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein. You are encouraged to read Dextera Surgical’s reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, available at www.sec.gov.
CONTACT: Contact: Investors: Bob Newell Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer (650) 331-7133 investors@dexterasurgical.com Media: Jessica Volchok (310) 849-7985 jessica@nicoleosmer.com
Source: Medical