AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 11 /PRNewswire/ — Apollo Endosurgery, Inc.
announced completion of the first clinical case involving its
FlexShears™ Endoscopic Scissors. The new device was
used to cut and remove an obstructing eroded suture from the
patient’s GI tract in a procedure that embodies the Apollo vision
of improving patient care with flexible surgery.
The subject of the case had undergone a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass
surgery in 2001, and subsequently had suffered from protracted
obstructive symptoms. A recent EGD performed to evaluate the
patient’s obstructive symptoms identified an eroded non-absorbable
suture traversing the mid-lumen immediately distal to the gastric
pouch as the probable cause.
“The thinking was that an open surgical procedure to remove the
suture would be the likely next step,” said the patient.
Wishing to avoid a subsequent surgery and the complications that
can follow, the patient — himself a retired surgeon —
began researching alternative therapies. An article in Obesity
Surgery on the utility of endoscopic scissors in removing
endolumenal sutures led the patient to the article’s author, Dr.
Subhas Banerjee, (Director of Endoscopy, Stanford Hospital) who was
able treat the condition endoscopically.
The scissors used in prior suture removal cases conducted at
Stanford were fragile and ill-suited to the application.
Aware of the pre-commercial availability of the FlexShears
scissors — which incorporate novel blade technology and
rotational ability — Dr. Banerjee contacted Apollo in
preparation for the case.
Accessing the gastric pouch with a therapeutic gastroscope, the
offending suture was readily identified and easily cut using the
FlexShears scissors. In comments to Apollo’s representative, Dr.
Banerjee mentioned that the new scissors exceptional cutting
ability and rotational capability provided a vast improvement over
previous, similar devices. &
‘/>”/>
