October 8, 2008 - CryoLife Inc. announced yesterday that cardiovascular surgeons from around the world will join the Ross Summit 2008, a two-day surgical congress to be held at the Company's corporate headquarters training facility in Kennesaw, GA, Oct. 10 and 11.
Approximately 80 cardiovascular surgeons from 11 countries will explore new data supporting the patient advantages of the Ross Procedure in cardiac reconstruction surgeries. In addition, the participants will have the opportunity to perfect their surgical techniques related to the procedure and to learn of new, related technologies now available. Mr. Donald N. Ross, FRCS, consultant surgeon, National Heart Hospital, London, and inventor of the procedure, will be the honored guest at the summit.
The Ross Procedure is a type of specialized aortic valve surgery in which the patient's diseased aortic valve is replaced with their own pulmonary valve. The pulmonary valve is then replaced with a human cryopreserved pulmonary valve. A new decellurized human pulmonary heart valve, CryoValve SG, processed using CryoLife's SynerGraft technology, was cleared by the FDA in February 2008 for use in cardiac reconstruction procedures including the Ross Procedure.
"In children and young adults, or older, active patients, the Ross Procedure offers several advantages over other traditional aortic valve replacement options. The most important advantage is improved long-term survival," said William F. Northrup III, M.D., vice president, medical relations and education at CryoLife, Inc. "However, the procedure requires very specific surgical expertise in order to achieve predictable, long-lasting results. The goal of this Summit is to provide the training necessary from acknowledged experts in the field. By doing so, we hope to expand the number of surgeons who can offer this procedure to their patients."
Additional distinguished cardiovascular surgeons on the Summit faculty include: Prof. Hans Sievers, M.D., FETCS, Klinik fur Herzchirugie, Luebeck, Germany; Emile A. Bacha, M.D., Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, Mass.; Paul Stelzer, M.D., Mt. Sinai Hospital, New York, N.Y.; Prof. John W. Brown, M.D., Indiana University, Indianapolis, Ind.; Hanneke Takkenberg, M.D., Ph.D., Erasmus University, Rotterdam, Netherlands; Michael F. Teodori, M.D., Phoenix Children's Hospital, Phoenix, Ariz.; Prof. Francisco da Costa, M.D., Santa Casa De Curitiba, Curitiba, Brazil; Prof. Neal Kon, M.D., Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC.: Prof. Ross Ungerleider, M.D., Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Ore.; and Giovanni Battista Luciani, M.D., University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
"The Ross Summit will create a unique atmosphere in which to engage in thought-provoking, interactive discussions about this ingenious surgical procedure with leading cardiovascular surgeons in the field," said Dr. Northrup. "The additional opportunity for hands-on valve implantation in a wet lab environment each day, led by Professors Yacoub and Sievers, offers an invaluable educational opportunity to these surgeons."
For more information: www.cryolife.com/