Synovis Life Technologies' Peri-Strips(R) Decrease Risk of Staple Line Failure in Laparoscopic Gastric Bypass

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Synovis Life Technologies, Inc. announced publication of data showing that using Peri-Strips®, the company's biomaterial buttress, to reinforce the staple line during laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery reduced the possibility of acute staple-line failure and gastrointestinal leakage. Either complication is serious, with estimated mortality rates reported as high as 30 percent. The report was written by Dr. Scott A. Shikora, FACS, chief of the Division of Bariatric Surgery at Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston, and the results were published in a recent issue of Obesity Surgery.

"Easy and fast to use, this human data suggest that these strips decrease staple-line bleeding, and more importantly, lessen the likelihood of failure and leak," commented Dr. Shikora. "The use of these strips also eliminates the need for over-sewing or clipping the staple line to address staple-line bleeding, thus reducing operating time."

The initial study evaluated 250 laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery patients who had their staple lines reinforced with Peri-Strips. No acute leakages were reported among the patients enrolled in the study following surgery. Since completion of the initial study group, the publication also reported on an additional 500 patients who underwent gastric bypass surgery at Tufts-New England Medical Center using Peri-Strips, and to date, there have been no complications related to the use of the buttress, negligible bleeding and no acute staple-line leaks.

This is the third study recently published in Obesity Surgery that has found significant clinical benefits from the use of Peri-Strips in gastric bypass surgery. In October, a study conducted at Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, cited Peri-Strips as a factor in reducing the incidence of gastric staple-line leakage. In November, a similar study in Italy showed that Peri-Strips significantly reduced the number of titanium clips needed to prevent bleeding during gastric bypass surgery, and, in turn, operating times.

About Peri-Strips and Gastric Bypass Surgery
Peri-Strips are used in conjunction with surgical stapling devices to provide integrity to a surgical staple line and reduce the risk of life-threatening leakages of air, blood or other bodily fluids, leading to lower costs and better outcomes. Staple-line leakage is the most serious risk of gastric bypass surgery.

Gastric bypass surgery is considered the "gold standard" procedure for treating morbid obesity which is believed to afflict between 15 and 23 million Americans. An estimated 100,000 gastric bypass procedures were performed in the United States in 2003.

About Synovis Life Technologies
Synovis Life Technologies, Inc., based in St. Paul, Minn., is a diversified medical device company engaged in developing, manufacturing and marketing medical devices for the surgical and interventional treatment of disease.

Source: Synovis Life Technologies, Inc.

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