Medtronic launches Valiant Thoracic Stent Graft System in UK and Ireland

Minimally invasive therapy protects patients from life-threatening aortic aneurysms

WATFORD - 22nd August 2005 - Medtronic Ltd recently launched in the UK and Ireland the Valiant Thoracic Stent Graft with Xcelerant® Delivery System, a next-generation stent graft built on the company's strong endovascular clinical history, which includes more than 16,000 implanted thoracic stent grafts with the TalentT system. The Valiant Stent Graft System is now fully available for implant in the UK , Ireland and other countries outside of the United States .

Thoracic stent grafts are used for the minimally invasive repair of the thoracic aorta - the body's largest artery - for several disease states, including aneurysms, penetrating ulcers, acute or chronic dissections, and contained or traumatic ruptures.

"Every year, thousands of people in Europe are diagnosed with thoracic aortic lesions, and these are often deadly", said Katie Szyman, vice president and general manager of Medtronic's Endovascular Innovations division. "It's important that physicians have the best treatments available, and we think Valiant provides an excellent, minimally invasive thoracic repair solution for doctors and their patients".

Many patients eligible for this therapy have serious co-morbidities such as coronary artery disease, emphysema, high blood pressure or diabetes. Open surgical repair, which is the current standard of care, may not be a viable option for patients with these types of underlying conditions because it carries a high risk of serious and life-threatening complications. For those patients, conservative medical management, or "watchful waiting," is often used as a treatment option and can lead to increased mortality and morbidity in many elderly patients due to the risk of rupture.

Physicians who have used the Valiant system say they are impressed with the options in terms of available configurations, the procedural control that the new Xcelerant Delivery System provides, and improvements in flexibility.

"This new stent graft represents a significant step forward in the treatment of thoracic aortic disease," said consultant vascular surgeon Prof Matthew Thompson of St George's Hospital , London , and the first physician worldwide to use the new system in standard clinical practice. "The graft will apply minimally invasive treatment to many more patients with these conditions and will potentially result in many fewer patients dying of thoracic rupture. It represents the cutting edge of endovascular treatment and is a real breakthrough".

The catheter section of the Xcelerant Delivery System tapers to a thinner diameter near the handle, making it pass through narrow vessels more easily for precise graft placement. The new system also offers both Closed Web and FreeFlo proximal end configurations, allowing doctors to select a graft that is most appropriate for the type of lesion and to better match the graft to the anatomy of the patient.

The Valiant device comes in covered graft lengths of up to 227 millimeters for maximum lesion coverage. With longer lengths there is a need for fewer graft segments to complete procedures and a reduced risk of endoleaks at junctions between segments.

Founded in 1949 and headquartered in the US city of Minneapolis , Medtronic is the global leader in medical technology - alleviating pain, restoring health and extending life for millions of people around the world. UK operations, based in Watford since 1987, began in 1972. More information is available online at www.medtronic.co.uk and www.medtronic.com.

CONTACT: Joe McGrath

Medtronic Ltd 

01923 205149

07802 160966

joseph.mcgrath@medtronic.com