Health Canada Approves New Sizes for the Gore Viabahn Endoprosthesis

February 4, 2015—Gore & Associates announced that it has received approval from Health Canada for additional sizes of the Gore Viabahn endoprosthesis with Propaten bioactive surface. The newly approved 25-cm-long endoprosthesis and a lower-profile delivery system gives Canadian physicians more options in treating patient anatomies.

According to the company, the 25-cm Gore Viabahn endoprosthesis with Propaten bioactive surface can be used to treat long-segment peripheral arterial disease. The device’s lower profile enables a reduction in delivery profile to 6 F for 5- and 6-mm devices and to 7 F for 7- and 8-mm devices, and is delivered over a 0.018-inch or 0.014-inch guidewire.

Gore stated that the device is constructed with a durable, reinforced, biocompatible, expanded polytetrafluoroethylene liner attached to an external nitinol stent structure. The flexibility of the device enables it to traverse tortuous areas and conform closely to the complex anatomy of the artery. The stent graft features the addition of the company’s heparin-bonded technology. The endpoint covalent bonding keeps heparin anchored to the endoprosthesis surface while the bioactive site remains free to interact with the blood.

In Gore’s press release, Andrew Benko, MD, of the University of Sherbrooke in Sherbrooke, Quebec, commented, “With patient outcomes as the top priority, the longer 25-cm Gore Viabahn endoprosthesis will lead to safer treatment and produce better patient results while being cost-effective and reduce procedure times. The addition of a lower-profile Gore device creates safe treatment options for patients with challenging anatomies and will be ideal for contralateral work.”