Hangzhou, China – From July 6 to July 9, MicroPort Endovascular (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. ("MicroPort® Endovascular") attended the 11th China Southern Endovascular Congress ("SEC") in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, and hosted two academic salons focusing on aortic arch treatment strategies and suitable stent structures for different kinds of aortic diseases. Around 2,000 experts from the vascular surgery field were gathered together to discuss hot topics extensively related with vascular diseases.
On the occasion of SEC 2017, MicroPort® Endovascular invited several experts to deliver keynote speeches of "Treatment Strategies of Aortic Arch." Professor Jianhua Huang of Xiangya Hospital of Central South University lectured on "the Application of Fenestrated Technique and Hybrid Technique in the Treatment of Arch Dissection." He pointed out: "The branch stent is the most reasonable platform to treat aortic arch. Castor™ Branched Aortic Stent-Graft System ('Castor™') has completed clinical trials earlier than several competitors' products. With unibdy design and good long-term anti-fatigue performance, it is a preferred choice for the revascularization of left subclavian artery ('LSA')."Later, in the speech of "How to Treat Aortic Arch: Fenestrated Technique, Chenmy Technique, Hybrid Technique, or Branch Stent," Professor Rui Feng of Changhai Hospital of Second Military Medical University introduced the pros and cons of the four techniques in the revascularization of the supra-arch branch. He said, Castor™ represents a brand new idea compared to the other three techniques as its design is consistent with the anatomy of the arch which helps to avoid endoleak and off-label use. Professor Feng said: "Castor™ has promising future and we are expecting more clinical data to support its long-term outcome." Afterwards, Professor Xiwei Zhang of Jiangsu Province Hospital presented on "Individualized Treatment Strategy of Aortic Arch." He said, during the endovascular treatment with the arch disease involving the LSA, physicians should take the patient's condition and hospital resources into consideration to choose the proper treatment. According to Professor Zhang, 13 cases of Castor™ pre-market clinical trial were enrolled by Jiangsu Province Hospital, which achieved 100% success rate and showed no occurrence of endoleak in one-year follow-up. "Since Castor™ has obtained approval from China Food and Drug Administration, we are expecting it to play a more effective role in clinical application," said Professor Zhang.
The first academic salon of MicroPort® Endovascular, "Unibody-Anchor to Secure: the Clinical Application of Stents with Unibody Design," was co-chaired by Professor Lefeng Qu of Shanghai Chengzheng Hospital and Professor Pingfan Guo of the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University. Professor Xianlan Zhang of Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical University, Professor Guanhua Xue of Renji Hospital of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Professor Mingjin Guo of Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, and Professor Zhiqi Lin of Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University were invited as keynote speakers to dive into the clinical advantages, indications, operative skills of the stent graft with unibody design and Aegis™ Bifurcated Stent-Graft System ("Aegis™"). Experts in attendance noted, unibody is an ideal design in terms of the anatomical morphology. "A successful stent is to conform to the anatomy of the aorta, rather than forcing the aorta to adapt to the stent graft." Both Castor™ and Aegis™ of MicroPort® Endovascular adopt such perspective unibody design.
The second academic salon was themed on "'Ahead of the Arch' — a Discussion of the Endovascular Treatment Strategy for the Arch Disease," chaired by Professor Xiaoming Zhang of Peking University People's Hospital, Professor Jianhua Huang of Xiangya Hospital of Central South University. Professor Xiang Feng of Changhai Hospital of Second Military Medical University, Professor Peiyong Hou of Liuzhou Worker's Hospital, Professor Minjian Kong of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Professor Heng Lu of Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Professor Hong Zhang of Affiliated Hospital of Chengde Medical University, Professor Wei Li of Peking University People's Hospital, and Professor Tong Qiao of Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital were invited as keynote speakers to discuss hot topics related with aortic arch. According to the experts in attendance, crossability and positioning of the stent graft are the main concerns in the endovascular treatment of aortic arch, especially for the type Ⅲ aortic arch with a sharp aortic angle. Hard sheath tends to flex when passing through the arch, which may lead to movement of stent graft during deployment. However, when the stent graft is delivered and deployed under the protection of the soft sheath, the traceability across the arch will be improved as well as the stability during deployment due to less stress incurred by the soft sheath when crossing the arch. Both Castor™ and Hercules™ Low Profile Cross Thoracic Stent-Graft adopt the arch with a soft sheath, which leads to excellent traceability across the arch, arch crossability, stale deployment, and precise positioning.
The two salons combined academic exchange, display of product sample, and stimulator operation. In particular, it was the first appearance of the simulator of Castor™ in an academic conference, which attracted wide attention from attendees. MicroPort®Endovascular President Zhenghua Miao said: "Castor™ provides a creative solution that makes the delivery and positioning of unibody branch stent much easier and features low occurrence of endoleak and good patency in branch vessel. As it is launched in China, we believe it will provide ingenious, accurate and safe clinical experience for physicians and benefit more patients with aortic diseases as well."