Axya Medical Suture Welding Technology Used in GERD Procedure

Business Wire, April 19, 2001

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

BEVERLY, Mass.--(BW HealthWire)--April 19, 2001

Axya Medical Inc., a privately held medical device firm, today announced the first Nissen Fundoplication surgical procedure performed with the AxyaWeld Laparoscopic Sonic J(TM) System. Nissen Fundoplications are performed on patients suffering from chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

Axya is the developer and marketer of innovative medical devices that ultrasonically weld polymer sutures for wound closure and tissue reattachment during surgical procedures. The AxyaWeld technology delivers a welded AxyaLoop(TM), a suture loop that is secured via ultrasonic energy.

To simplify minimally invasive suturing, several devices such as knot pushers and needle passers have appeared on the market. While these instruments have made minimally invasive knot tying easier, they have not eliminated the need for needle and suture management within the body cavity and they still require considerable skills on the part of the surgeon. Even with these instruments, surgeons still consider knot tying to be a major challenge in performing minimally invasive surgical procedures.

Axya Medical's technology offers a solution to difficult knot-tying problems. Instead of tying a knot, Axya instruments weld the suture together, thereby eliminating the knot tying and the knot bundle. This technology has been applied in both open and minimally invasive surgical procedures.

Dr. Joseph Amaral, of Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, RI performed all of the suturing in the Nissen Fundoplication procedure with the AxyaWeld(TM) Laparoscopic Sonic J(TM) System.

Dr. Amaral, a general surgeon who is also President and CEO of Rhode Island Hospital, said of Axya's technology "simplifies the complicated process of intracorporeal knot tying and results in a strong, reproducible knot.". Dr. Amaral, was Chief of Surgery and Director of the Division of Minimally Invasive Surgery prior to being appointed President and CEO.

Ken Fallon, CEO of Axya Medical, said, "The successful use of suture welding in this procedure is significant in the expansion of our platform technology into general surgery. We are looking forward to continuing this process".

Axya has established a network of independent distributors in the Sports Medicine market and has focused its initial product launches in this market. In addition to General Surgery and Sports Medicine, the technology has also been used in surgical procedures in Urology and Gynecology.