6533b829fe1ef96bd128a127

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Temporary occlusions of coronaries arteries by thermoreversible gel : leGoo.To experimental to human case

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ObjectifsThe objective of this work is to assess the feasibility of using the LeGoo gel to occlude the coronary arteries temporarily, to facilitate the performance of coronary bypass (off-pump technique), initially in pigs then in human. A Secondary objective was to evaluate the impact of the injection on the endothelium and myocardium.MethodesThe first study evaluated in pigs the feasibility of using LeGoo, while performing coronary bypass on the left anterior descending or on the right coronary artery and to evaluate the endothelial function of coronary arteries occluded by the gel.The second study analyzed endothelial function of internal thoracic arteries, in the area occluded by the gel.After obtaining the CE mark, a third study demonstrated the feasibility of the utilisation of LeGoo for temporary coronary artery occlusion during the performance of beating heart coronary bypass surgery in human.The last study was a randomized, multicenter and international clinical study that compared the gel with conventional vessel loop during the performance of off-pump coronary artery bypass anastomoses.ResultsIn the first study 14 pigs received coronary bypass and were sacrificed after 3 hours (n=8) or 3 days (n=6). The study of endothelial reactivity did not reveal any difference between the coronary arteries occluded by the gel and the circumflex coronary artery, which served as a control. The endothelium showed no histological damage. Identical observations were made on the 9 internal thoracic arteries, used in the second study and occluded during 15 minutes by a LeGoo plug.In the first human use, 99 anatomoses were performed in 50 patients. The level of satisfaction on the quality of haemostasis was 91%. One patient presented arrhythmia which required the introduction of an intracoronary shunt after rapid dissolution of the gel. Another patient had a myocardial infarct on day 1 associated with stenosis on the internal thoracic artery upstream of the anastomosis, requiring a refection of this bypass (new off pump procedure). Other complications were identical to what is reported in the literature.In the randomised study, anastomoses times were shorter in LeGoo group than with vessel loops (12,8 ± 4,7 min vs 15,4 ± 6 min, p<0,001). The differences were 2 minutes for anterior bypass and 4 minutes for the lateral and posterior territories.The satisfaction rate of haemostasis was 88% with the gel against it was 60.7% with the vessel loop (p<0,0001). Other peri-operative measurements were statistically identical between the 2 groups.ConclusionsLeGoo (a poloxamer based formulation) can be used safely for the performance of coronary anastomoses. Anastomotic times are shorter than with traditional vessel loops, without any alteration of the endothelial function.