In a breakthrough development that could dramatically reduce the number of leg amputations and painful bypass graft surgeries performed annually on European patients, a first-of-its kind drug-eluting stent for a widespread form of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is now available to physicians throughout the European Union.
Created by Cook Medical, a world leader in minimally invasive medical device technology for superior patient outcomes, the new CE Marked Zilver PTX Drug-Eluting Peripheral Stent is widely expected to improve the standard of care for many patients with serious blockages in the superficial femoral artery (SFA) by creating a highly effective, completely new treatment option.
In the largest clinical trial of its kind ever conducted, the Zilver PTX stent was shown to effectively bridge the gap between the patient results achieved using open surgical bypass graft procedure - which is typically more painful and requires a longer hospital stay for the patient - and the less traumatic, but typically less effective, earlier minimally invasive treatment options for PAD such as balloon angioplasty and bare metal stenting.
“With the Zilver PTX stent, Cook has introduced a true landmark device that can reduce the number of PAD patients having to endure the trauma of leg amputations and bypass surgeries,” explained Rob Lyles, vice president and global leader of Cook Medical’s peripheral intervention unit. “Clinically proven, polymer-free and exceptionally durable, we expect the Zilver PTX stent to become the new standard of care for PAD in the SFA.”
Cook’s revolutionary device will be introduced commercially to European physicians at the annual CIRSE meeting, held this year from September 19-23 in Lisbon. The launch includes several important developments, including the introduction of a new website, http://www.cookmedical.com/zilverptx, with clinical and practical information on the device for patients and physicians in English and major European language languages, and a Twitter page for live updates from CIRSE, http://www.twitter.com/ZilverPTX.
Cook also has initiated a first-of-its-kind open clinical database on SFA treatments. The SFA Open-Registry provides physicians with an opportunity to exchange ongoing, real world treatment results. Utilizing an intuitive web interface, clinicians may track their patients, view the medical community’s trends in treating PAD and determine the most effective treatment options. Transparency will be a central objective of the SFA Open-Registry, with results for all treatment types available to participating physicians.