Austin-based On-X®
Life Technologies, Inc. (On-X LTI), manufacturers of the On-X®
Prosthetic Heart Valve, announced today that it has entered into an
exclusive worldwide license with the Cleveland Clinic for a system of
products intended to improve and simplify the replacement of damaged or
severed mitral valve chordae. The system is the creation of co-inventors
A. Marc Gillinov, M.D., a staff cardiac surgeon at Cleveland Clinic, and
Michael K. Banbury, M.D., of Christiana Care’s Center for Heart and
Vascular Health, and will be co-developed with the On-X LTI New Product
Development team.
Surgical repair of the mitral valve includes the insertion of a
cloth-covered ring around the valve to bring the leaflets into contact
with each other (annuloplasty), removal of redundant/loose segments of
the leaflets and re-suspension of the leaflets with artificial cords
(chordal replacement). Replacement of diseased mitral valve chordae with
expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) sutures is an established
technique with good long-term results. Various techniques have been
described to assist the surgeon to establish the correct replacement
chordal length.
“For the past three decades, there has been great focus on the roles of
leaflet resection and annuloplasty for mitral valve repair in patients
with mitral valve prolapse. More recently, surgeons have recognized the
value of using artificial chordae to correct prolapse,” said Dr.
Gillinov. “With current techniques, chordal replacement is technically
challenging. The hope is to assist cardiac surgeons by providing a
simple method for chordal replacement.”