Privately held On-X Life Technologies (On-X LTI) has announced that it will launch its Chord-X mitral valve chordal repair system.
The On-X LTI Chord-X used during mitral valve repair is produced with On-X LTI’s proprietary ePTFE suture and has been designed to provide surgeons new tools to help simplify the procedure. The includes a chordal sizer, pre-measured loops and adjustable suture system.
A Marc Gillinov, The Cleveland Clinic, who has been instrumental in the development of the Chord-X mitral valve chordal repair system recently, stated “The Chord-X technology helps simplify and standardise chordal replacement during mitral valve repair. This assists in reducing OR time for the patient.”
The Chord-X system was previewed at the American Association of Thoracic Surgeons (AATS) annual meeting (25–29 April, Seattle, USA) and also at the AATS Mitral Conclave Meeting (23–24 April, New York, USA).
On-X LTI’s chief executive officer Clyde Baker notes, “We are pleased to provide surgeons with innovative tools designed to help make mitral valve chordal replacement more reproducible and save OR time. We are appreciative of the excellent team of surgeons who have helped design this product and for our excellent product development team which produced this innovation.”
Approximately 60,000 mitral valve repairs are performed annually in the USA. The procedure has been generally performed with the aid of an annuloplasty ring. In recent years some surgeons use ePTFE suture to create artificial chords, a subvalvular structure of the mitral valve. Data suggest that repair of the valve annulus in combination with chordal repair is ideal for many patients.
