CryoLife Continues To Support Customer Education With Third Central Venous Pathology Summit

ATLANTA, March 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- CryoLife, Inc. (NYSE: CRY), a leading medical device and tissue processing company focused on cardiac and vascular surgery, announced today that it will host its third Central Venous Pathology (CVP) Summit on March 25-27, 2014 at CryoLife's training facility at its corporate headquarters in suburban Atlanta.  The Company expects that over 80 physicians and dialysis therapy professionals will attend the CVP Summit.

The CVP Summit will be led by William Northrup III, MD, vice president of physician relations and education at CryoLife, and Marc H. Glickman, MD, FACS, chief of vascular surgery, Sentara Healthcare. A full faculty list and summit agenda can be found at www.cryolife.com/physician-education/central-venous-pathology-summit.

Dr. Northrup said, "There continues to be tremendous interest in our CVP Summit among healthcare professionals treating patients with end-stage renal disease.  The two-day course includes a world-class faculty giving interactive, data-driven presentations and a hands-on wet-lab practicum, along with a session devoted to emerging and underutilized technologies related to dialysis access.  It also provides us the opportunity to present a detailed clinical and practical overview of the HeRO^® Graft, our proprietary graft-based solution for end-stage renal disease hemodialysis patients with limited access options and central venous obstruction."

Similar to the first two CVP Summits, which were held in 2013, the event will examine treatment strategies for durable hemodialysis access in cases of central venous pathology, with an emphasis on treatment algorithms to both preserve and salvage central veins. The hands-on practicum during the second day will allow for a central venous anatomy demonstration and for mentored HeRO Graft implants in the wet-lab.  A two-hour continuing education program is also available for nurses during the second day.  CryoLife has also invited several private companies with emerging technology related to central venous stenosis and durable hemodialysis access to make presentations at the Summit.  CryoLife will be using the hashtag #CVPSummit on Twitter and Facebook to keep attendees informed of updates and reminders.

Steven G. Anderson, chairman, president and CEO of CryoLife, said, "In our first two CVP Summits we provided a sophisticated educational program to more than 150 healthcare professionals focused on hemodialysis and end-stage renal disease.  We expect record attendance at our CVP Summit III, demonstrating the significant interest in advanced training and new technologies to treat this patient population.  We look forward to continuing to provide education programs to support our customers and drive adoption of our products."

About CryoLife

CryoLife, Inc. is a leader in medical device manufacturing and distribution and in the processing and distribution of implantable living human tissues for use in cardiac and vascular surgeries.  It operates throughout the U.S. and internationally.  CryoLife manufactures and distributes BioGlue^® Surgical Adhesive, an FDA-approved adjunct to sutures and staples for use in adult patients in open surgical repair of large vessels.  BioGlue is also CE marked in Europe for use in soft tissue repair and has received additional marketing approvals in several other countries throughout the world.  CryoLife's BioFoam^® Surgical Matrix is CE marked in Europe for use as an adjunct in the sealing of abdominal parenchymal tissues (liver and spleen) when cessation of bleeding by ligature or other conventional methods is ineffective or impractical.  CryoLife distributes PerClot^®, an absorbable powdered hemostat, in Europe and other select international countries.  CryoLife, through its subsidiary Cardiogenesis Corporation, specializes in the treatment of coronary artery disease for severe angina using a laser console system and single-use, fiber-optic handpieces to perform a surgical procedure known as Transmyocardial Revascularization (TMR).  CryoLife and its subsidiary Hemosphere, Inc. market the HeRO^® Graft, which is a solution for end-stage renal disease in certain hemodialysis patients.  CryoLife's CryoValve^® SG pulmonary heart valve, processed using CryoLife's proprietary SynerGraft^® technology, has FDA 510(k) clearance for the replacement of diseased, damaged, malformed, or malfunctioning native or prosthetic pulmonary valves.  CryoLife's CryoPatch^® SG pulmonary cardiac patch has FDA 510(k) clearance for the repair or reconstruction of the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT), which is a surgery commonly performed in children with congenital heart defects.

For additional information about the company, visit CryoLife's Web site:
http://www.cryolife.com.

SOURCE CryoLife, Inc.