NYU Medical Center's Cardiothoracic Surgeons Announce Major Advance in Heart Valve Repair
NEW YORK, NY, October 1, 2001 - Two New York University Medical Center surgeons, Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Stephen B. Colvin, M.D. and Director of Cardiac Surgical Research, Aubrey C. Galloway, M.D., announced a major advance in heart valve repair technology with the launch of the Colvin-Galloway Future™ Band, a new semi-rigid annuloplasty band used in the surgical repair of the heart's mitral valve. Drs. Colvin and Galloway developed the new band in collaboration with Medtronic, Inc., the world's leading medical technology company, headquartered in Minneapolis, MN.
The Colvin-Galloway Future™ Band will be used in mitral valve repair surgery to restore, or "remodel," the leaking mitral valve opening to a more-normal shape. The innovative Colvin-Galloway band restores proper valve coaptation and improves valve function after repair. According to Dr. Galloway, "The Future Band annuloplasty is a significant advance over prior devices used for valve repair. The design allows the surgeon to achieve more predictable remodeling of the valve annulus while maintaining normal physiology and flexibility. This should lead to more predictable long-term results after valve repair surgery."
Over the past 20 years, Drs. Colvin and Galloway have performed more than 2,500 valve repair cases at New York University Medical Center, with Dr. Colvin performing the world's first minimally invasive mitral valve repair in 1996. Clinical results from NYU Medical Center have revealed that the use of native tissue in repairing rather than replacing a patient's mitral valve yields significant benefits including shorter hospital stays, lower patient risk, improved durability, and lower mortality rates.
"The design of the new valve annuloplasty system is truly futuristic," says Colvin, "using a semi-rigid metal alloy to provide strength, physiologic flexibility, and a low profile all in a single device. The low profile band is designed for improved ease of implantation, which will be an advantage in all cases, but will be especially valuable as more advanced minimally invasive techniques become more common. Our initial experience has been exceptional. The device is extremely easy to use and results in a highly predictable valve repair. The physiology of the repaired valve also appears to be improved over that seen with prior devices. We are extremely excited about the final design and our initial results."
For more information please visit www.heartvalverepair.net, an educational website for heart valve repair provided by Medtronic, Inc.