SurgiQuest Announces First Single Port Procedure for Ovary Removal Using AirSeal(TM) Access System

    ORANGE, Conn., May 7 /PRNewswire/ -- SurgiQuest, Inc. today announced
 the first single port laparoscopic removal of an ovary using the
 AirSeal(TM) access system.
 
     Drs. Anthony Discuillo and Christopher Awtry performed the procedure at
 Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, MA. The AirSeal System creates an
 invisible barrier that does not rely on gaskets or seals. This provides
 unobstructed access to the cavity without loosing intra-abdominal pressure,
 enabling surgeons to place a telescope, all operative instruments and large
 specimen sac through a single 12mm port.
 
     "The AirSeal Access System represented a significant improvement in
 operative management of patients with adnexal masses, which traditionally
 requires three separate ports for completion," said Dr. Awtry, Instructor
 of Gynecological Oncology at Harvard Medical School. "The five centimeter
 mass was worrisome for malignancy. After it was removed from the pelvic
 sidewall, we were able to place it in a sac and remove it without
 spillage."
 
     Dr. Discuillo, Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at
 Harvard School of Medicine added, "The successful completion of our case
 represents a paradigm shift in the way we will perform major gynecologic
 procedures in the future. This is truly a revolutionary technology that
 allows us to perform complex operations with only one small abdominal
 incision in the belly button."
 
     "Gynecology represents an important and large segment of the minimally
 invasive marketplace," said Kurt Azarbarzin, Founder and CEO of SurgiQuest.
 "The first clinical experience with the AirSeal access system in this
 specialty is an important milestone for SurgiQuest. We are pleased Drs.
 Discuillo and Awtry were able to take advantage of the AirSeal system to
 perform this operation safely and effectively while eliminating the risks
 and additional patient care associated with two additional trocars."
 
     About the AirSeal(TM) access system:
 
     The AirSeal(TM) access system presents a significant technological
 shift in minimally invasive surgery (MIS). By eliminating seals and gaskets
 from access ports, the AirSeal system provides unobstructed access to the
 abdominal cavity without loosing intra-abdominal pressure. This
 unencumbered approach to MIS is enabling both new procedure development and
 new instrument platforms.
 
     SurgiQuest, Inc. is a private venture-backed company, founded in May
 2006. It develops, manufactures, and markets access technology for
 minimally invasive surgery.
 
 

      Timothy J. Nolan
      Vice President, Marketing and Sales
      203-799-2400
      http://www.surgiquest.com
 
 

SOURCE SurgiQuest, Inc.