ATS Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATSI), manufacturer and marketer of state-of-the-art cardiac surgery products and services, announced the first human robot assisted endoscopic aortic valve replacement using the daVinci® Surgical System from Intuitive Surgical (Nasdaq: ISRG) to implant the ATS 3f® Aortic Bioprosthesis. The procedure was performed by Allen Raczkowski, M.D., at Banner Baywood Health Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona.
The ATS 3f Aortic Bioprosthesis is the only valve that has the extreme flexibility necessary for small access robotic ports and it provides excellent hemodynamic characteristics which are important for the patient's quality of life," said Dr. Raczkowski.
With the recent introduction of the ATS 3f Aortic Bioprosthesis into the U.S. marketplace, surgeons have quickly recognized its unique potential for use in less invasive port access and robot assisted procedures. Because the ATS 3f valve is the first truly stentless valve in the world, it has no rigid supporting stent. As a result, the valve is completely pliable which allows it to be folded into a small diameter and introduced to the body through small ports using minimally invasive techniques. No other commercially available valve can be manipulated in this manner. This successful first ever minimally invasive human aortic valve replacement is the result of an ongoing cooperative effort with many of the leading robot experienced cardiac surgery centers in the U.S. to develop minimally invasive aortic valve procedures.