San Mateo, California – January 31, 2019 – Levita Magnetics®, a company dedicated to improving the outcomes of surgical procedures through Magnetic Surgery®, today announced publication of clinical data in Obesity Surgery, the official journal of the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders (IFSO), on the company’s first-of-its-kind Levita® Magnetic Surgical System for use in bariatric procedures.
The study, titled “Magnetic Liver Retraction: an Incision-Less Approach for Less Invasive Bariatric Surgery,” concluded that magnetic retraction is a novel approach that allows a safe, reproducible, incision-less technique for port-less intra-abdominal mobilization. The device successfully permitted optimal liver retraction during laparoscopic bariatric surgery, facilitating surgical exposure while decreasing the number of abdominal incisions.
Retraction of the liver is essential to ensure appropriate visualization of the surgical field during bariatric surgery. In conventional laparoscopic bariatric procedures, shafted surgical instruments are introduced by fixed-position trocars inserted through incisions in the abdomen. Magnetic surgery facilitates access and visualization of the surgical site and enables procedures with a reduced number of incisions and trocars.
The study authors retrospectively reviewed consecutive patients who underwent magnetic-assisted liver retraction during primary or revisional laparoscopic bariatric surgery at the Duke Center for Metabolic and Weight Loss Surgery between October 2016 and August 2017. The 73 cases in total were comprised of 29 primary sleeve gastrectomies, 24 gastric bypasses, 10 duodenal switches, 3 gastric band removals, and 7 revisions. Mean pre-operative BMI was 43.6 kg/m2 (range 18.3-67.7 kg/m2).
“Magnetic bariatric surgery offers a safe and less invasive alternative to bariatric patients who are seeking better cosmetic outcomes after surgery,” said A. Daniel Guerron, M.D., Weight Loss Surgeon at Duke University Health System in Durham, North Carolina. “We are pleased to be the first in the United States to pioneer and study this innovative approach to weight loss surgery.”
“Levita’s goal is to enhance patient outcomes by minimizing the footprint of surgical procedures across multiple indications and broad patient populations,” said surgeon Alberto Rodriguez-Navarro, CEO and founder, Levita Magnetics. “This data is additional important evidence for the utility and safety of Magnetic Surgery – a technique we believe can become standard of care in the future for a variety of procedures.”
To date, patients have undergone Magnetic Surgery at leading clinical centers including the Cleveland Clinic, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Stanford University and Duke University, among others.
About the Levita® Magnetic Surgical System
The Levita Magnetic Surgical System enables reduced-port laparoscopic surgical procedures designed to minimize the footprint of surgery. The system, which consists of an external magnet placed on the skin that controls a shaftless detachable grasper, enables instruments to move without the constraints of a fixed-position pivot point, and facilitates access and visualization of the surgical site. In the United States, the Levita Magnetic Surgical System is indicated to grasp and retract the body and the fundus of the gallbladder in laparoscopic cholecystectomy procedures and the liver in bariatric procedures to facilitate access and visualization of the surgical site in patients with a BMI range of 20-60 kg/m2.
About Levita® Magnetics
Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Levita Magnetics developed the first and only Magnetic Surgery® platform, the Levita Magnetic Surgical System. Founded by innovator and surgeon Dr. Alberto Rodriguez-Navarro, this proprietary technology is designed to evolve minimally invasive surgery with the goal of minimizing the footprint of surgery and improving patient outcomes. It is the first magnetic surgical system to receive CE Mark and FDA clearance. For more information visit www.levita.com.
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