Teleflex, a global provider of medical technologies for critical care and surgery, has announced that it has officially launched its second-generation Percuvance Percutaneous Surgical System and that the first clinical laparoscopic procedures in the U.S. using the system were performed at the Duke Center for Metabolic and Weight Loss Surgery.

Teleflex’s latest advance in percutaneous laparoscopy is more versatile and enables procedures to be even less invasive than its first-generation system while delivering the performance of 5 mm laparoscopic devices commonly used in minimally invasive surgeries (MIS) with less trauma.

The initial sleeve gastrectomy, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, and laparoscopic gastric band removal procedures were performed by Dr. Dana D. Portenier and his team. Dr. Portenier is the Chief of General Surgery at Duke Regional Hospital and the Division Chief at the Duke Center for Metabolic and Weight Loss Surgery.

“These are increasingly common but often challenging procedures,” said Portenier. “Our experiences with the new system are consistent with other clinical studies, which showed that its handling and functionality were similar to standard 5-mm laparoscopic instrumentation. Further research will determine whether the system’s smaller incisions could potentially demonstrate improvements in patient pain, cosmesis, and satisfaction.”

The second-generation, 2.9 mm Percuvance System features additional interchangeable 5-mm tool tips and a new quick-connect system to facilitate fast and secure tool-tip changes outside of the body. The system has the performance and versatility for use in common and advanced general laparoscopic procedures, including laparoscopic cholecystectomy, upper gastrointestinal, gastric, bariatric, colorectal and hernia.

It enables surgeons to eliminate one or more additional trocars from their laparoscopic procedures versus the first-generation device while delivering the outcomes and performance they expect from their traditional laparoscopic devices.

The first generation Percuvance System has been used by more than 150 surgeons in the U.S. and EMEA since Teleflex implemented a limited release of the first-generation system in March 2015. The second-generation Percuvance device recently received FDA clearance and CE Mark approval.

During the next month, a series of surgical procedures with the new Percuvance System will be conducted at other leading institutions in New York, Texas, Florida and California by surgeons with experience using the first-generation system.

“Our second-generation Percuvance System represents a significant advancement in the ongoing and perpetual evolution of minimally invasive surgery and is demonstrative of Teleflex’s unwavering commitment to innovation,” said John Tushar, President and General Manager of Teleflex Surgical. “We are encouraged by surgeons’ enthusiastic response to our percutaneous surgical devices and are optimistic the new Percuvance System will become a new standard of care in laparoscopic surgery.”

Teleflex is ramping up its sales and marketing efforts to familiarize surgeons worldwide with the unique performance capabilities and benefits of the 2.9 mm Percuvance System.

Percutaneous laparoscopy: The next stage in the evolution of MIS
Traditional laparoscopic surgery revolutionized surgical practices more than 30 years ago, and approximately 3 million laparoscopic procedures are performed each year in the U.S. Since the early 2000s, new technologies and devices have been introduced with the goal of making these surgeries increasingly less invasive. None, however, has yet to become widely accepted in general practice for common laparoscopic procedures.

Percutaneous laparoscopy is a new category of laparoscopic surgery promoted by Teleflex to overcome the barriers that slowed widespread acceptance of other approaches. In developing the new Percuvance System, Teleflex listened to surgeons who said they wanted:

• Even less invasive surgical practices that do not compromise performance;
• Reduced trauma and scarring; and
• A device that didn’t require them to learn a new, complicated surgical technique.

The Percuvance System has a short learning curve and requires few adjustments to surgeons’ current techniques. In addition, it does not have the high costs associated with capital, service and fully disposable technologies.

Teleflex
teleflex.com