FLAGSTAFF, Ariz.— W. L. Gore & Associates announced June 1 that its GORE Hybrid Vascular Graft is now commercially available in the United States.
Since receiving FDA clearance in 2010, more than 130 dialysis access patients have been successfully treated with the GORE Hybrid Vascular Graft, according to the company. Three month follow-up data for newly created access implants demonstrates a trend toward a reduction in revision procedures, thrombosis events and seroma, as compared to historical graft data. In the United States, more than 300,000 people suffer from ESRD and are in need of dialysis.
The GORE Hybrid Vascular Graft is indicated for use as a vascular prosthesis for dialysis access or bypass for other peripheral vascular diseases. The device is designed to address the most common causes of graft failure; intimal hyperplasia, thrombosis, and seroma. The device simplifies access to vessels with a new over the wire deployment method through a smaller than usual incision in the skin that reduces vessel injury and dissection. The GORE Hybrid Vascular Graft has been used to create new access sites in anatomical locations that would have been abandoned otherwise, preserving the amount of access sites available throughout the patient’s long-term therapy.
“Outflow stenosis has been a long-standing challenge for vascular grafts. The GORE Hybrid Vascular Graft is a promising new option because it targets intimal hyperplasia by creating a sutureless anastomosis that can be created percutaneously,” said John R. Ross, MD, General Surgeon at the Bamberg County Hospital, Bamberg, South Carolina, who also performed the first clinical implants.
The GORE Hybrid Vascular Graft combines several technologies. The expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) vascular prosthesis has a section reinforced with nitinol. The nitinol reinforced section is partially constrained to allow for easy insertion and deployment into vessels that are difficult to reach or in challenging anatomical locations. It is the only combination graft that incorporates Carmeda BioActive Surface (CBAS Surface) end-point immobilization of heparin to the luminal surface, resulting in a proven thromboresistant surface.
“We are very excited to introduce the GORE Hybrid Vascular Graft that has the potential to significantly improve outcomes,” said Chuck Biggerstaff, associate with the Gore Venous Access Business. “This device is the latest addition to Gore’s long history of introducing innovative devices and technologies to positively impact the lives of patients worldwide.”
