First Ever Five-Millimeter Laparoscopic Stapled Small Bowel Anastomosis Performed With Cardica's MicroCutter XCHANGE® 30

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Oct. 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Juan-Carlos Verdeja, M.D., a leading surgeon, performed the first ever virtually scarless five-millimeter stapled small bowel anastomosis on a 22-year old female patient using Cardica's (Nasdaq: CRDC) MicroCutter XCHANGE^® 30 surgical stapler.  

The patient arrived at the emergency room with severe gastrointestinal bleeding that required multiple transfusions due to blood loss before surgery. Following the diagnosis of a large tumor, Dr. Verdeja performed an emergency small bowel anastomosis, removing the tumor and portion of her small bowel. The entire procedure was performed intracorporeally using just three, five-millimeter ports.

"In this challenging surgical procedure with massive bleeding, the MicroCutter XCHANGE's small size and the ability to articulate 80 degrees in a compact turning radius allowed me to easily position the device to complete the procedure quickly and successfully," said Dr. Verdeja. "This patient expressed particular concern regarding cosmetic outcome, and the MicroCutter enabled me to perform the procedure with just three five-millimeter trocars which resulted in a virtually scarless result."

"This first-of-its-kind stapling procedure marks another milestone in the ability of the MicroCutter XCHANGE 30 to enable five-millimeter only procedures," said Bernard A. Hausen, M.D., Ph.D., president and CEO of Cardica. "We congratulate Dr. Verdeja and his team for realizing the full potential of the XCHANGE 30 to advance the field of minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery. We will continue to execute on our value creating disciplined commercialization strategy to ensure that more hospitals and more patients have the opportunity to benefit from Cardica's cutting edge technology."

About Cardica

Cardica designs and manufactures proprietary stapling and anastomotic devices for cardiac and laparoscopic surgical procedures. Cardica's technology portfolio is intended to reduce operating time and facilitate minimally-invasive and robot-assisted surgeries. Cardica's MicroCutter XCHANGE^® 30, a cartridge-based articulating surgical stapling device with a five-millimeter shaft diameter, is manufactured and cleared for use in a variety of gastrointestinal procedures and appendectomies in the United States, and is marketed for a wide range of surgical procedures in Europe. Cardica is developing the Cardica^® MicroCutter XCHANGE^® 45, a cartridge-based microcutter device that is being designed with an eight-millimeter shaft to be used in a variety of procedures, including bariatric, colorectal, thoracic and general surgery. The Cardica MicroCutter XCHANGE 45 product requires 510(k) clearance and CE Mark and is not yet commercially available in the U.S. or internationally. In addition, Cardica manufactures and markets its automated anastomosis systems, the C-Port^® Distal Anastomosis Systems and PAS-Port^® Proximal Anastomosis System for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, and has shipped over 52,000 units throughout the world.

To learn more about Cardica, please visit the company Website at www.cardica.com.

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SOURCE Cardica

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