COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., May 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Spectranetics Corporation today announced the availability of the new LLD EZ Lead Locking Device (LLD) for the removal of non-functional or infected pacing and defibrillation leads. The LLD EZ enables physicians to secure the entire lead creating traction to enable the removal process.
Management of implanted leads for pacemakers and defibrillators is a growing concern among physicians and patients since an increasing number of patients receive these devices at a relatively young age. Leads, or insulated wires that connect devices to the heart, may become non-functional or infected. When this occurs the primary treatment option is to remove the leads. Because scar tissue can bind the leads in several places along their length, specialized tools are needed to complete the removal process.
Spectranetics’ LLD EZ provides a flexible solution to address the removal of leads from scar tissue holding them in place. LLD EZ employs a braided mesh that expands to secure leads along their hollow inner lumen permitting physicians to apply steady traction on the lead. The locking mechanism can be reversed, or unlocked, if the physician needs to remove the device from the lead or reposition it. The LLD EZ provides versatility to remove a wide range of pacing and defibrillation lead sizes.
“Controlling the entire lead length throughout the removal process is important for achieving safe and complete removal. The LLD technology gives me this control; it’s a feature that other tools don’t offer,” said Dr. Laurence Epstein, Chief of Cardiac Arrhythmia Services, Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. “The design of the LLD EZ makes it easy to incorporate this tool into my cases.”
LLD EZ also features an enhanced tip design and sleek profile to facilitate tracking and passage of the device through tight curves and beyond lumen damage. The specialized tip is radiopaque, enabling verification of tip location under fluoroscopy. Additionally, a new low-profile handle design permits easy loading of extraction sheaths. Spectranetics’ Lead Locking Device technology is often used in conjunction with Spectranetics’ Laser Sheath, or SLS II, which employs “cool” ultraviolet light known as excimer laser to dissolve the scar tissue binding the leads.
“Increasingly, lead removal is the best decision for many of my patients when lead issues are encountered. The LLD EZ fits the majority of leads making device selection easy,” said Dr. Roger Carrillo, a cardiothoracic surgeon at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami. “With the sleek tip design, the LLD EZ simplifies navigation and manipulation.”
Spectranetics’ LLD EZ is currently available in the United States and Canada and is a variant of the Company’s LLD E device, which received clearance from the Food and Drug Administration in March 2005. For additional information or to purchase the LLD EZ, please visit http://www.spectranetics.com.
About Spectranetics
Founded in 1984, Spectranetics manufactures and sells the only excimer laser approved in the United States, Europe and Japan for use in minimally invasive cardiovascular procedures. This technology treats complex cardiovascular conditions by photo-ablating multiple lesion types into tiny particles that are easily absorbed into the blood stream. The Company’s disposable catheters use high-energy “cool” ultraviolet light to vaporize arterial blockages in the legs and heart, as well as scar tissue encapsulating pacing and defibrillation leads. For more information, visit http://www.spectranetics.com.
CONTACT: Stacey Holifield or Kate Finigan of Schwartz Communications,
Inc., +1-781-684-0770, spectranetics@schwartz-pr.com, for Spectranetics
Corporation
Web site: http://www.spectranetics.com/
