LAACClamp designs a curved clip for a difficult corner of heart surgery
LAACClamp is developing a curved implant for surgeons closing a small pouch on the heart during cardiac surgery. The company is designing the clip to follow the pouch's curved base and to be placed with instruments surgeons already use. The device is preclinical, has not been cleared or approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and is not available for sale.
An established procedure, a different clip
The pouch is called the left atrial appendage. In people with atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm, clots can form there and contribute to strokes. Surgeons may close it during heart surgery being performed for another reason.
In the LAAOS III randomized trial, researchers studied 4,770 people with atrial fibrillation undergoing cardiac surgery. Over an average 3.8 years, ischemic stroke or systemic embolism occurred in 4.8% of those assigned to surgical closure and 7.0% of those assigned to no closure. Most participants continued antithrombotic treatment.
The study used several closure methods; it did not test LAACClamp.
Designing around the surgeon's tools
LAACClamp says straight clips can be difficult to position precisely against the appendage's curved base. Its proposed alternative follows that curve and is designed so a surgeon can recapture and reposition it during placement.