Expanding the application of endovascular aortic repair around the world, Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE:MDT), announces the launch of the EndurantTM Abdominal Stent Graft System in Canada.
The Endurant System expands the applicability of endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) to more patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs), which are present in an estimated 120,000 people and responsible for 1,500 deaths annually in Canada - ruptured AAAs are in fact the 13th leading cause of death overall, and the 10th leading cause of death in men over age 55 years.
Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a pathological dilatation and weakening of a segment of the aorta that occurs in 4.1 % to 14.2 % of men, and 0.4 % to 6.2 % of women. The primary risk with AAA is rupture, a complication associated with a mortality rate of 80 % to 90 %. The risk of rupture increases from 1% per year for aneurysms less than 4 cm in diameter to 25 % per year when the diameter reaches 6 cm.
Building on more than a decade of industry-leading experience, the new device seeks to address those AAA patients whose aortas are highly angulated or whose aneurysms have short necks. Patients with these complex anatomies would previously have had no choice but watchful waiting or open surgical repair, in which the abdomen is opened and major organs temporarily moved in order to access the aorta.
Dr Kirk Lawlor, Vascular Surgeon at the London Health Sciences Centre in London, Ontario was the first Surgeon to implant the novel graft in Canada: