Terumo to Sponsor Presentations on Key Issues in Cardiac and Vascular Surgery at Society of Thoracic Surgeons Annual Meeting

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Jan. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Terumo announced it has finalized its agenda of sponsored presentations at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, January 24-27.  The presentations cover topics currently of heightened interest in the cardiovascular community: controversies in aortic surgery procedures, the debate over endoscopic vein harvesting, and the role of minimized perfusion circuits in blood management.

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Terumo will be represented at the STS by its three subsidiaries that develop, manufacture and market products for cardiac and vascular surgery: Terumo Cardiovascular Systems (Terumo CVS) produces products for cardiopulmonary bypass, endoscopic vessel harvesting and intraoperative monitoring; Terumo Heart Inc. produces the DuraHeart™ Left Ventricular Assist System, currently in clinical trials in the U.S.; Vascutek Ltd. is a leading manufacturer of vascular grafts.   All product lines will be represented at the Terumo exhibit.

"The STS Annual Meeting is an important venue for Terumo," said Mark Sutter, President and CEO of Terumo Cardiovascular Systems.  "It is one of the best opportunities for clinicians and industry to come together and exchange information that is relevant to advancing cardiovascular surgery.  We are pleased to support that goal by sponsoring these speakers."

Terumo CVS and Vascutek are co-sponsoring a dinner symposium on Sunday, January 24 entitled, "Great Debates: Five Controversies in Aortic Surgery." The program features ten world renowned cardiovascular surgeons presenting opposing viewpoints on five current topics in aortic surgery.  The program is moderated by Joseph Bavaria, MD, Vice Chief, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Pennsylvania Health System.  More information on the program can be found at www.terumo-cvs.com/greatdebates2010.

On Monday, January 25, Kourosh Asgarian, DO, FACS, Staten Island University Hospital, presents his views favoring the use of endoscopic vein harvesting (EVH) in a presentation called "Conduit Quality Counts: In Support of EVH."  The presentation is in response to the ongoing debate in the surgical community over the merits of EVH.  The debate was initiated last summer by a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Also at the Terumo exhibit on Monday, Ingo Kutschka, MD, Hannover Medical School, Germany, presents "Minimized Circuit Technology Improves Patient Outcomes." Dr. Kutschka is involved in a multi-center European trial; preliminary results of the trial, presented at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the European Association of Cardiothoracic Surgery, suggest an association between the use of Terumo's reservoir-less circuit technology and reductions in blood transfusions and post-operative atrial fibrillation.

Terumo estimates that its products are used in more than 1000 cardiac and vascular surgeries every day, including coronary artery bypass grafting, valve replacements, heart transplants, aortic aneurysm repair, and surgeries for peripheral artery disease.  

About Terumo's Cardiac and Vascular Surgery Subsidiaries

Terumo Cardiovascular Systems Corporation is a global manufacturer and marketer of medical devices for cardiac and vascular surgery.  The company is headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan with manufacturing operations in Ann Arbor; Elkton, Maryland; and Ashland, Massachusetts.  For more information, visit www.terumo-cvs.com.

Terumo Heart, Inc. has headquarters and manufacturing facilities in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  The company's focus is the innovation and introduction of products to improve the quality of healthcare for heart failure patients.  The DuraHeart system is limited to investigational use only in the United States, and is CE marked in Europe.  For more information, visit www.terumoheart.com.

Vascutek Ltd., based outside of Glasgow, Scotland, is one of the world's leading designers, manufacturers and marketers of vascular products for the treatment of cardiovascular disease, including a wide range of sealed and unsealed knitted and woven polyester and ePTFE vascular prosthetic grafts.  For more information, visit www.vascutek.com.  

Terumo Corporation is a premier global medical device company with annual sales of more than three billion dollars for the year ending March 31, 2009.  Founded in 1921, the company develops, manufactures and distributes world-class medical devices for use in cardiothoracic surgery, interventional procedures, transfusion medicine, and needle and syringe products.  

SOURCE Terumo Cardiovascular Systems