TUSTIN, Calif., September 19, 2016 – Andrew Technologies, LLC today announced the first published clinical study of HydraSolve for breast reconstruction and the availability of new clinical data comparing HydraSolve to suction-assisted liposuction (SAL) as it prepares to attend the American Society of Plastic Surgery (ASPS) meeting this week in Los Angeles.
The HydraSolve study titled, “Fat Grafting with Tissue Liquefaction Technology™ (TLT) as an Adjunct to Breast Reconstruction,” will appear in the December issue of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and is currently available online. In this retrospective study, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis reviewed the charts of 136 consecutive patients who underwent TLT subsequently used in 237 breast reconstructions, evaluating donor and recipient site complications. The overall complication rate at the recipient site was 28.7%, however the clinically evident rate of fat necrosis was only 6.3% per treated breast. Bruising (ecchymosis) was the primary donor site complication, with 71.1% experiencing minimal bruising and widespread bruising occurring in only 10.4% of patients.
“We concluded that TLT with HydraSolve is very different from other fat harvesting modalities,” explains one of the study’s principle investigators Dr. Marissa Tenenbaum. “Although donor and recipient site complications are similar to other methods used to harvest adipocytes for fat transfer, the quality of the harvested fat and the procedure’s efficiency make HydraSolve a sound option.”
Thirty-one patients have now been treated by five plastic surgeons in the new study titled, “A Multicenter, Prospective, Randomized, Single-Blinded, Controlled Clinical Trial of HydraSolve vs. Suction-Assisted Liposuction.” The investigators found that after the procedure, the sites treated with HydraSolve had reduced bruising, swelling and treatment site tenderness compared to the sites treated with SAL. HydraSolve’s fat extraction rate was 40.4% more efficient than SAL, and surgeons’ cannula stroke rate was 65% lower with HydraSolve. Surgeons’ satisfaction rating for HydraSolve was higher than SAL, and they found it required less exertion. The study will be submitted to a leading plastic surgery journal later this year.
“We were encouraged to find such a clear advantage to the tissue liquefaction approach from both the patients’ and surgeons’ perspectives,” says study author Dr. Bill G. Kortesis of Hunstad Kortesis in Huntersville, N.C. “Recovery is so important to our patients’ wellbeing and their satisfaction with surgery, so it is exciting to see the potential for a more comfortable experience. The fact that surgeons are able to achieve these outcomes with greater speed and comfort in the OR makes HydraSolve a logical choice.”
Andrew Technologies Chairman and CEO Tom Albright adds, “Breast reconstruction following successful treatment for breast cancer is one of the most important applications of HydraSolve. We take great pride in offering patients a natural solution with safe, effective fat transfer. HydraSolve’s low complication rates and more comfortable recovery allow patients to get back to their lives after cancer.”
Attendees at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) Plastic Surgery Expo September 24, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., in Los Angeles can learn more about HydraSolve by visiting Andrew Technologies at Booth #1531 in the Los Angeles Convention Center.
About Andrew Technologies, LLC
Andrew Technologies, LLC, is a privately funded medical technology company founded in 2007 and committed to improving patients’ lives through precision surgery based on Tissue Liquefaction Technology™. The first device using this new approach to surgery was AquaLase, launched by Alcon in 2003 for cataract surgery. Andrew Technologies received FDA clearance for HydraSolve, the second TLT device, in 2012. HydraSolve is primarily used to transfer fat for breast reconstruction following breast cancer treatment and for aesthetic body contouring www.hydrasolve.com. In addition to HydraSolve, Andrew has an impressive research pipeline that includes minimally invasive surgery to correct type 2 diabetes and adipose stem cell treatments.
Public Relations Contact:
Amy Phillips
Pascale Communications
412-327-9499
amy@pascalecommunications.com