January 28, 2009 - Attended by over 40 cardiothoracic surgeons, Cardiogenesis Corp.'s education symposium at the recent Society of Thoracic Surgeons Meeting in San Francisco was entitled "Advancements in Revascularization & Stem Cell Therapy."
Program Chair Emerson Perin, M.D., director, New Interventional Cardiovascular Technology, Texas Heart Institute said, "The objective of the symposium is to provide cardiac surgeons with a state-of-the-art update on the application of stem cells in cardiovascular medicine, including exciting new information on TMR [transmyocardial revascularization] plus cell therapy. Cardiologists are challenged everyday in treating medically refractory patients suffering from chronic ischemia.
"This program highlights recent advancements with TMR plus cell therapy for the treatment of chronic ischemia, including innovative new tools available to surgeons today. While there is still much to be learned about the therapeutic potential of stem cells, the safety and feasibility of autologous bone marrow stem cells in cardiac applications is well established. There are obvious advantages to intramyocardial cell delivery in the surgical setting - including precision and control, and the strategy of delivering platelet rich plasma in conjunction with minimally invasive TMR is a logical initial step."
The symposium included presentations of real world experiences with TMR as well as TMR plus cell therapy, including:
- Guillermo Reyes, M.D., a cardiothoracic surgeon from Madrid presented his early experience using the Cardiogenesis PHOENIX delivery system, which in this series combined TMR plus autologous bone marrow stem cells. The 12- month outcomes on 16 patients included the elimination or significant reductions in angina, with no mortality and no major adverse events.
- Kurt Wehberg, M.D., a cardiothoracic surgeon from Salisbury, MD described the implementation of a minimally invasive Fast Track TMR program. Using a strict patient care protocol, combined with minimally invasive thoracotomy technique, he reported a time to discharge postoperatively of 23 hours for 80 percent of his stand-alone TMR patients. Dr. Wehberg also presented six-month follow up on 11 patients treated with TMR plus platelet rich plasma (PRP). The six-month outcomes included a significant reduction in angina (82 percent of patients free of angina) and a trend toward improvement in ejection fraction.
For more information: www.cardiogenesis.com
April 23, 2024 
