March 5, 2009 - CorMatrix Cardiovascular Inc., developer of extracellular matrix (ECM Technology) biomaterial devices that harness the body's innate ability to repair damaged cardiovascular tissue, announced the first implant in Europe of the CorMatrix ECM Technology in a patient undergoing cardiac surgery.
Professor Stephan Jacobs, M.D., and Professor Volkmar Falk, M.D., both of University Hospital Zurich in Switzerland, utilized the CorMatrix ECM Technology to close the pericardium of a 70-year-old patient following triple coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.
"We are pleased with the ease of use of the CorMatrix ECM and welcome this technology into our surgical protocol," commented Dr. Jacobs. "This is an advancement in cardiac surgery to restore the patient's normal anatomical structures, which we believe is in the patient's best interest."
Following implantation by a surgeon, the CorMatrix ECM Technology acts as a scaffold into which the patient's own cells migrate and integrate, stimulating the body's innate wound-healing mechanisms to repair tissue at the site of implantation. As the patient's cells populate the matrix, they lay down their own collagen, which matures over time to form a functional tissue repair. The implanted ECM material is gradually replaced and reabsorbed by the body as the patient's tissue is remodeled.
Since the launch of the CorMatrix ECM for pericardial closure, the technology has been used at more than 220 hospitals across the U.S. and has been implanted in more than 10,000 cardiac procedures.
For more information: www.cormatrix.com.