JNJ’s Ethicon Division Rolls Out New Vascular Stapler

Ethicon has developed a new powered vascular stapler designed to provide greater precision and stability than currently available staplers for critical vessel transections. Called Echelon Flex, the new stapler has the narrowest anvil of any stapler on the market, an articulating shaft and advanced placement tip that may allow for better visibility, navigation and precise placement during thoracic and other procedures, including video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) lobectomy for lung cancer, according to the company.
 
The stapler was introduced during the Society of Thoracic Surgeons 51^stAnnual Meeting in San Diego, Calif.
 
“Thoracic surgery is performed in restricted narrow spaces around delicate vascular anatomy … This new powered thin lower profile stapler is designed to improve access, visibility and stability and delivers a secure, hemostatic staple line. It is a significant advance that may help surgeons avoid potential complications and improve patient outcomes,” said Robert J. Cerfolio, M.D., professor at the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery and section chief of thoracic surgery at The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).                     
 
Ethicon officials compared their new device to theEndo GIA curved-tip reload with Tri-Stapletechnology from Covidien plc (now Medtronic plc, see more Breaking News). According to Ethicon, the Echelon Flex has a curved, blunt anvil that is 26 percent narrower and a shaft that is 26 percent thinner, offering the greatest angle of reach in the tight intercostal space. The new powered stapler also provides 11 percent greater manual articulation in each direction, allowing more flexibility during final placement than the competitor device, the company claims.
 
Ethicon’s new stapler also allows for a 83 percent reduction in tip movement during firing for less movement during transection, officials said. Due to proximity of vital structures and limited space during a thoracic procedure, increased stability is critically important.
 
“The Echelon Flex powered vascular stapler is a linear stapler designed primarily for thoracic surgery with significant input from thoracic surgeons throughout the world,” said Michael del Prado, Ethicon group chairman. “We are deeply committed to thoracic surgery and helping our customers around the world advance treatment through evidence-based solutions. Our commitment is to be the best partner we can through developing comprehensive clinical evidence, education, and innovative product and procedural solutions.”
  
Ethicon funds research to further the understanding of lung cancer treatment and advance procedural approaches. In 2012, the company supported investigator studies on VATS that appeared in the journals Chest, Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Minimally Invasive Surgery and Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.
 
“We share a common goal with the thoracic community: improving outcomes for people with lung cancer,” del Prado said.
 
According to the American Cancer Society, there were about 224,210 new cases of lung cancer and about 159,260 deaths from the disease in 2014. Lung cancer accounts for about 27 percent of all cancer deaths and is the leading cause of cancer death among men and women.
 
Ethicon Inc. and Ethicon Endo-Surgery Inc. are divisions of Johnson & Johnson. Their surgical technologies and products (including sutures, staplers, energy devices, clip appliers, trocars and meshes) are used to treat colorectal and thoracic conditions, women’s health conditions, hernias, cancer and obesity.