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INDIANAPOLIS – A surgeon at the St. Francis Heart Center is using a revolutionary technology that allows patients to rebuild their own cardiovascular tissue.
Marc Gerdisch, M.D., is using the CorMatrix Extracellular Matrix (ECM)™ to modify and repair cardiac structures, allowing heart tissue to re-grow inside the beating hearts of heart surgery patients. The CorMatrix ECM is a unique biomaterial that harnesses the body’s innate ability to repair damaged heart tissue. Over time, it is replaced by the patients’ own tissue.
"The use of this biomaterial is a major advancement in cardiac surgery and allows us to provide our patients with restoration of normal anatomic structures. It opens the door to a new level of cardiac tissue reconstruction," said Gerdisch, director of cardiothoracic surgery at the St. Francis Heart Center and a partner at Cardiac Surgery Associates.
In August 2007, Gerdisch, who specializes in complex heart valve surgery, became the first in the world to apply this technology inside the heart, repairing a congenital defect.
"Similar uses of the ECM followed, at our and other institutions," reported Gerdisch, who is co-director of the St. Francis Midwest Heart Valve Center. "Then, in March 2008, we performed the first enlargement of the path blood follows as it exits the heart using the CorMatrix ECM, in lieu of a prosthetic device, for a patient undergoing valve surgery.
The first mitral valve reconstruction using CorMatrix occurred at St Francis Heart Center as well, in October of 2008. Large defects had been created in a patient’s valve by infection. The valve was restored to normal function using CorMatrix patches, avoiding a valve replacement.
"We have been able to make similar repairs for other patients since," added Gerdisch.
The CorMatrix ECM is derived from porcine small intestines and is processed in a way that removes all cells, leaving the complex structural matrix intact. Once surgically implanted, it serves as a scaffold, allowing the patient’s cells to infiltrate and ultimately replace the ECM scaffold.
While the patient continues to heal, the matrix gradually is replaced as the body reinforces and remodels the tissue. In the past, tissue replacement has been limited by options for implantation.
Animal tissue implants are subject to calcium deposition and hardening, due to the body’s ability to recognize them as foreign. Synthetic material lacks the performance characteristics of tissue and causes an inflammatory response. ECM, however, leads to growth of functional tissue where scarring would normally be expected.
More information about how the ECM is being used at St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers is at http://www.cardiactissuerepair.net/.
About St. Francis Heart Center
Referring physicians wanting to learn more about heart valve surgery and Dr. Marc Gerdisch’s work with ECM can call toll-free at 1-866-237-0565. The St. Francis Heart Center is dedicated to providing our patients with the region's most comprehensive heart and vascular services. The commitment of our physicians to the prevention and cure of heart disease has led to innovative care, better outcomes and improved quality of life for patients. St. Francis created the Emergency Heart Attack Response Team protocol, which has revolutionized heart attack treatment in the United States and abroad. St. Francis has the only 24/7 comprehensive heart center in South Central Indiana, providing everything from angioplasty to heart valve repair. For more information, go to www.stfrancishospitals.org/heart.
About St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers
St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers has three main hospitals in Indianapolis, Beech Grove and Mooresville and operates a medical office building in Plainfield. St. Francis Hospital is part of a network of 13 growing hospital campuses in Indiana and Illinois owned and operated by the Mishawaka-based Sisters of St. Francis Health Services Inc., one of the largest health-care systems in Indiana. For more information, go to http://www.stfrancishospitals.org/.
About CorMatrix® ECM Technology™
CorMatrix Cardiovascular holds an exclusive license from Purdue University to research, develop, manufacture and market naturally occurring ECM™ products for cardiovascular applications. The company currently has U.S. clearance and European approval with a CE Mark for its ECM Technology as an implant for pericardial closure, and clearance in the U.S. for use in cardiac tissue repair. For more information, visit http://www.cormatrix.com/.
Media Contacts:
Joe Stuteville-St. Francis 317-782-7986 (office) Joe.Stuteville@ssfhs.org
Becky Soja-CorMatrix Cardiovascular 415-946-1080 (office) Bsoja@wcpglobal.com
ANDERSON, Ind. – Hip and knee pain shouldn’t keep people from leading active and rewarding lives – and St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers wants to show you how.
The St. Francis “Road Show” will be coming to town at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, July 15, at the Days Inn Anderson Convention Center, 5901 Scatterfield Road. In the spotlight is a hip and knee replacement seminar.
Philip Faris, M.D., will explain the latest procedures in joint replacement and arthritis treatments. He is a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon specializing in adult reconstructive surgery and joint replacement.
Faris is a surgeon with Indiana Joint Replacement Surgeons, a practice group whose Center for Hip & Knee Surgery is affiliated with the St. Francis Hospital-Mooresville.
The Center has been ranked No. 1 in Indiana for joint surgery three years in a row by HealthGrades, one of the nation’s premier health-care rating companies.
To register for this seminar, call St. Francis toll-free at 1-877-888-1777.
More information about the Center for Hip & Knee Surgery is at www.stfrancishospitals.org/Ortho/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=23.
INDIANAPOLIS – Researchers at the St. Francis Cancer Research Foundation are comparing combinations of chemotherapy agents that are most effective for treating patients with advanced indolent non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) or mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).
The Phase III randomized trial, which is sponsored by Pennsylvania-based biopharmaceutical company, Cephalon, Inc., compares the complete response rate of bendamustine and rituximab with that of standard treatment regimens.
NHL is a form of cancer that begins in the cells of the lymph system, which suppress the formation and function of other immune and blood cells. Indolent NHL refers to lymphoma that grows and spreads slowly and has few symptoms. However, as the disease advances symptoms worsen and treatment with chemotherapy combination becomes appropriate.
While rare, MCL is found in lymph nodes, the spleen, bone marrow, blood and sometimes the gastrointestinal system.
Led by principal investigator Maureen Cooper, M.D., St. Francis is the first in the world to establish a trial site for the study and to enroll its first patient.
This study is being conducted in approximately 110 centers is the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
St. Francis continues to seek patients for the study. To learn more about the criteria needed to participate in the trial call 317-782-7820 or visit www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00877006
More information about other clinical trials under way at St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers is at http://clinicaltrials.stfrancishospitals.org/.
For more information about Cephalon, please visit www.cephalon.com.
INDIANAPOLIS – Prospective bariatric surgery patients can get an up-close view of what to expect from their procedures, thanks to a partnership forged between the St. Francis Weight Loss Center and Medical Animatics, LLC.
The collaboration harnesses the medical expertise of St. Francis clinicians and the technological prowess of Medical Animatics, an Indianapolis-based company specializing in medical and scientific visualizations.
The Web-based education portal, appropriately named “MyInformedChoice ®,” is designed to provide patients with a full complement of educational content. Patients can logon using any Internet enabled personal computer. Patients can then access , the visually rich presentation that includes 2-D and 3-D animations, audio narration, surgical video and interactive tools.
The multimedia program guides users through the process of what takes place during bariatric and gastric banding procedures, including the benefits and risks. They also can view the various aspects of follow-up care they can expect during recovery.
“This technology educates patients with easy-to-understand information and the most visually accurate details, enabling them to make informed choices about their health care,” said Eve Olson, M.D., medical director of the Weight Loss Center and a member of the St. Francis Medical Group. “It also uses patients’ informed consent designed to improve their medical outcomes and future wellness.”
Patients can access the site at any time and share it with others.
"Having this information at a patient's or family member's fingertips can make a difference in understanding this life-changing surgery," said Kim Peters, R.N., bariatric coordinator.
Once patients have been approved for surgery at St. Francis, they can complete the informed consent portion of the program.
“We’re excited to bring this cutting edge technology to patients who are considering bariatric surgery at St. Francis Weight Loss Center,” said Harlon Wilson, president and CEO of Medical Animatics. “Patients who use this innovative tool have demonstrated significant improvements in learning about medical treatment. St. Francis is an excellent example of a forward-thinking hospital that embraces innovative technology in support of improving their patients’ outcomes.
The St. Francis Weight Loss Center is an American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence. The center offers medical and surgical treatments for obesity, including physician-supervised weight loss, LAP-BAND and Realize adjustable gastric bands, gastric bypass surgery, gastric sleeve surgery, group weight management programs and StomaphyX procedures for previous gastric bypass patients.
More information about the center is at www.stfrancishospitals.org/weightloss.
For more information about Medical Animatics, visit its Website at http://medicalanimatics.com/flash-site.
INDIANAPOLIS – Six physicians will begin honing their skills in the Family Medicine Residency Program at St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers in late June.
The 36-month program launches their start of their family medicine careers. Residents practice out of the St. Francis Family Medicine Center in Beech Grove, where they see patients of all ages and incomes. They also provide care for expectant mothers and deliver babies for many of these patients.
The residents are Kile Carter, M.D., (Indiana University School of Medicine); Brian Coppinger, M.D., (IU School of Medicine); Alfie Diamond, M.D. (IU School of Medicine); Angela Hackman, M.D. (University of Kentucky College of Medicine); Eric Hartman, M.D. (University of Arkansas College of Medicine); and Zachary LaMaster, D.O. (Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine of Midwestern University).
“For 35 years, our program has trained physicians in the clinical and academic aspects of family medicine, while never losing sight of our mission to treat each patient with individualized care and compassion,” said Richard Feldman, M.D., residency program director.
To learn more about the Family Medicine Residence Program at St. Francis, go to www.stfrancishospitals.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=331.
INDIANAPOLIS – A surgeon at the St. Francis Heart Center is using a revolutionary technology that allows patients to rebuild their own cardiovascular tissue.
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