Vascular Graft Solutions has announced that John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, is the first centre in the UK to use its VEST technology to externally support vein grafts in patients undergoing coronary bypass surgery.
"After several decades in which little progress had been made in coronary bypass surgery, we are now experiencing several exciting developments in the field," said Professor David Taggart, professor of cardiovascular surgery at Oxford University and consultant cardiac surgeon at the John Radcliffe Hospital. "Recent major trials have ended the long-standing debate regarding the relevance of bypass surgery in the era of less invasive treatment options and concluded that bypass surgery remains the best treatment option for patients with severe coronary disease."
Taggart said: "Performing state of the art bypass surgery and advancing clinical research is our commitment to patients. This means not only using the most advanced surgical techniques such as multi arterial grafting and off pump surgery, but also employing technologies that have the potential to substantially improve the quality and outcomes of surgery and to minimise patients' discomfort."
"I would like to thank the team in Oxford for their major contribution to the field of bypass surgery," said Dr Eyal Orion, founder and CEO of Vascular Graft Solutions. "In the last seven years, the team at John Radcliffe hospital, under the direction of Professor Taggart, led four major trials that evaluated our technology including the first in human trial in 2011. This partnership between surgeons, nurses, scientists and engineers is based on our mutual vision to develop new treatments with significant benefit to patients' lives. To date, VEST technology has been used successfully in thousands of patients globally. We are glad that it became available for patients in the UK and we are looking forward to working with Professor Taggart and his team on our future projects."