Heartport Launches Aortic Valve Replacement System

Heartport Inc. (Redwood City, CA) announced that it will begin full commercial introduction of its InSite AVR system for less invasive aortic valve replacement. The system complements the company's line of less invasive and minimally invasive cardiac surgery products, including the Port-Access coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and mitral valve repair and replacement systems, and the recently introduced PrecisionOP system for open-chest beating heart CABG.

The Heartport InSite AVR system allows surgeons to perform aortic valve procedures through smaller incisions than in conventional surgery. Fifteen surgeons have used the system in more than 200 procedures during its limited market release.

The system includes four proprietary catheters and cannulae components that provide single-step cannulation and arterial return, percutaneous venous drainage, right heart decompression, and retrograde cardioplegia delivery with an unobstructed view of the surgical field. Specially-designed less invasive surgical instruments are also available. All of these components make the system compatible with a wide variety of incisions and techniques, including partial- or mini-sternotomy, median sternotomy and mini-thoracotomy.

Edited by Ursula Jones