US-based BioVentrix has announced the successful completion of it 50th clinical case using the Revivent myocardial anchoring system in a 74-year-old male patient at the OLV Hospital in Aalst, Belgium.
The case comes on the heels of other successful cases performed recently in Germany, Italy, and the UK.
Performed by OLV staff surgeons Dr Filip Casselman and Dr Bernard Stockman, the case marks the first time that the Less Invasive Ventricular Enhancement or LIVE procedure has been performed in Belgium.
Prior to the Revivent System, reshaping of the left ventricle used an invasive procedure known as surgical ventricular reconstruction (SVR) to remove the scarred, non-functioning tissue created by a heart attack.
The invasive nature of SVR limits its use because it requires stopping the patient's heart and supporting it with cardiopulmonary (heart-lung) bypass while incisions into the heart muscle are made to remove the tissue.
Placement of the Revivent System via the LIVE procedure obviates these requirements. Instead, small titanium anchors are placed along the outer surface of the heart and along one of the interior walls
The anchors are then pulled toward one another, effectively excluding the scarred, and non-functioning heart wall. The efficiency of the remaining heart muscle is immediately improved, by as much as 30-40%.
Presentation of recent scientific data indicates that in 92% of patients, the efficacy results were durable beyond one year.
BioVentrix sales and marketing vice president David Schickling noted the LIVE procedure and the Revivent System have gained a foothold in Western Europe, because it is the only technology that stops the destructive, ongoing process of heart failure.
"We are gratified that our technology is immediately impacting the lives of patients and their families by allowing them to regain a significantly improved quality of life," Schickling added.