Cook Medical receives FDA clearance for controlled-release stent

Cook Medical has received clearance for its Evolution Colonic Controlled-Release Stent product from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Success rates of 97.8 per cent were recorded by the product in international testing, with the stent evaluated for use as a bridge to surgery and in palliation of symptoms for those who have difficulty defecating or suffer abdominal pain.

Barry Slowey, global business unit leader for Cook Medical's Endoscopy division, said clinicians will now have the ability to precisely deploy and recapture colonic stents, helping to improve the quality of life for patients suffering from discomfort and pain.

"That can make it easier to place the stent the first time around, potentially reducing the need for repeat procedures, while increasing efficiency in the GI unit," he commented.

Launched in 1963, Cook Medical is a research company specialising in the development of equipment to aid in endovascular therapy, critical care medicine, general surgery and diagnostic and interventional procedures.