Ethicon Expands Portfolio of Bariatric Surgery Devices

Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon division has rolled out three new endocutter and energy products designed for bariatric procedures such as sleeve gastrectomy and gastric bypass.
 
The devices were introduced at the19th World Congress of International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity & Metabolic Disorders (IFSO) in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
 
The company launced the Echelon Flex GST system and a new 45-centimeter (cm) Enseal G2 Articulating Tissue Sealer in addition to the Harmonic Ace+7 Shears with Advanced Hemostasis, which the company claims is the first purely ultrasonic device with a 7-millimeter (mm) vessel-sealing indication. 
 
“Ethicon, as part of the largest healthcare company in the world, is committed to leading the way to address the burden of obesity for patients and healthcare systems. Our science-based portfolio for obesity and metabolic diseases is among the most comprehensive in the industry, and we continue to bring forward innovations that fill clinical needs and advance patient care,” said Michael del Prado, Ethicon Group Chairman. “In addition, we remain committed to supporting long-term research that contributes to a greater understanding of the value and role of metabolic and bariatric surgery in treating obesity and related metabolic diseases worldwide.”
 
Ethicon also launched the “Evidence Corner” at IFSO 2014 “to drive greater industry focus on the global health and economic challenges of obesity and metabolic diseases,” company officials claim.
 
According to Ethicon, the goal is to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas aimed at generating new evidence and insights that can lead to new treatments for obesity and its associated diseases, and improve access to care. 
 
Tissue slippage during firing may cause poor staple formation and lead to leakage, bleeding or “tissue milking” out of the end of the device, requiring clinical intervention and additional reloads. The Echelon Flex GST system, which includes the Echelon Flex Powered Plus Stapler and the Endopath Echelon Reloads with Gripping Surface Technology (GST), is designed to address these clinical issues through its unique design for better grip that provides less tissue slippage. In testing, the Echelon Flex GST resulted in four times less tissue slippage during firing compared to Covidien’s ENDO GIA Reloads with TriStaple technology,which may eliminate one reload per procedure, according to Ethicon. The company will launch the Echelon Flex GST in the United States and Europe later in the year.
 
The 45 cm length of the Enseal G2 Articulating Tissue Sealer for bariatric surgery is set to launch globally later in 2014.  The advanced bipolar energy device is the only such device designed to enable a perpendicular approach to cutting and sealing vessels up to 7 mm in diameter, and lymphatics, through a 5-mm port, the company claims. Vessels sealed with a perpendicular approach are more than 28 percent stronger than vessels sealed at a 45-degree angle, according to figures cited by the company.Also, because the device can bend and provide greater control over the angle of approach, it makes it easier for surgeons to access difficult to reach parts of the anatomy and provides better access to tissue in deep or tight spaces.
 
The Harmonic Ace+7, available in 36 cm and 45 cm for bariatric surgery, is the only purely ultrasonic energy device with a 7 mm vessel sealing indication. Ethicon officials claim the device has greater 5 mm to 7 mm vessel-sealing reliability than Covidien’s LigaSure devices when in the Advanced Hemostasis Mode.
 
“This ultrasonic vessel-sealing device is an advance for taking down larger vessels,” said bariatric surgeon Robin Blackstone, M.D., Medical Director, Scottsdale Health Care Bariatric Center in Arizona. Blackstone is a paid Ethicon consultant. “It provides advanced hemostasis and precise dissection, while generating less heat. This should translate into even better outcomes for bariatric surgery patients.”
 
In addition to bariatric surgery, the Harmonic Ace+7 may be used in general, colorectal, bariatric, gynecology, thoracic and urology procedures.
 
Ethicon Inc. and Ethicon Endo-Surgery Inc. make surgical technologies and products—including sutures, staplers, energy devices, clip appliers, trocars and meshes—used to treat colorectal and thoracic conditions, women’s health conditions, hernias, cancer and obesity.