Earlier this year, George P. Batsides, MD, assistant professor of surgery, and chief, section of cardiac surgery, implanted the Impella RP™, the only right-sided percutaneous (through the skin) assist device on the market, to treat right-sided heart failure. The first implantation in New Jersey, this unique device addresses an unmet need of treating patients who develop acute right heart failure, or decompensation, following left ventricular assist device implantation, myocardial infarction, heart transplant, or open-heart surgery.
As a result, the division of cardiothoracic surgery, cardiovascular disease and hypertension, in the Department of Medicine, and cardiac anesthesiology, were activated in November as one of eight sites in the country to participate in the Impella RP™ post-approval study, an FDA-mandated multi-center prospective study looking at the safety and efficacy of the device.
“As a regional leader in acute ventricular support for cardiogenic shock, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital are honored to be part of this post-approval study,” says Dr. Batsides, who also is surgical director, Mechanical Circulatory Support at RWJUH. “Our team is now afforded the ability to provide complete biventricular, univentricular (left or right) temporary support for failing hearts without opening the chest, which gives us the very important bridge to decision time for these critically ill patients in a minimally invasive fashion.”
The other sites chosen to participate in the study include Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC; Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY; Einstein Medical Center, Philadelphia; Tufts Medical Center, Boston; North Shore University Hospital, Manhasset, NY; Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, and Ochsner Health System, New Orleans.
|
Back to News Releases