Allium Offers Urethral Bulbar Stent: Minimally Invasive Treatment For Recurrent Urethral Strictures

Main Category: Urology / Nephrology
Article Date: 17 Mar 2009 - 5:00 PDT

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Allium Group, the developer and manufacturer of innovative stents for the urinary, gastro-intestinal, pulmonary and peripheral vascular tracts, announced today that its CE certified Urethral Bulbar stent will now be accessible to patients in Europe. Offering a viable solution, urologists who are not experts in urethral reconstructive surgery can now treat patients with recurrent strictures by inserting the urethral bulbar stent as an office outpatient procedure. European distribution of the stent will enable patients to select a minimally invasive procedure to manage their recurring stricture.

With Allium's growing presence in the stenting industry, the Bulbar Urethral Stent is the latest in a line of stent products to launch in Europe. Commenting on Allium's leading role in filling the market gap, Limor Domnitz Gishri, CEO of Allium Medical said, "Medical stents have emerged as a therapeutic tool to treat patients with obstructions and strictures given its minimally invasive characteristics. With Allium's Bulbar Urethral Stent now available to the wider European medical community, more patients will have the option to forego repeated dilating procedures or surgery for a simple procedure which will enable the attainment of a greater quality of life."

The Bulbar Urethral Stent (BUS) is a large caliber, removable stent designed to fit the dimensions of the normal anatomy and function of the male bulbar urethra. Developed to treat recurrent bulbar urethral strictures, the stent's super elastic skeleton allows comfort to the patient, specifically when sitting on hard surfaces, without compromising its shape to keep the stented urethra open. Other than palliative measures such as repeated dilations or optical urethrotomy, or specialized reconstructive surgery there is no other treatment for this condition. Allium Medical's one-year stents, specifically designed to fit the contours of the bulbar urethral lumen, prevents sphincteric dysfunction that may cause incontinence while offering a removable and safe method of alleviating stricture recurrence. Studies have shown that temporary stents left indwelling for a period of 12-14 months can prevent recurrent stenosis in up to 70% of patients.

"Until recently, the limited use of temporary stents in Europe has been an under explored option to treat recurrent urethral strictures due to a lack of an anatomically and functionally compatible stent. Allium's next-generation urethral bulbar stent, used as a therapeutic tool, creates newfound opportunities to treat stenoses and enables non specialized urologists to effectively perform the simple procedure," commented Professor Daniel Yachia, a world-wide known expert on urological stents and CSO of Allium Medical.

Allium's stents are currently being distributed through numerous partners in various European markets including Italy, United Kingdom, Germany and Austria, Benelux, Spain, Greece, Scandinavia and South Africa.

About Allium Medical

Founded in 2001, Allium Medical is a privately owned medical device company offering next-generation stents based on a proprietary technological platform that enables physicians to offer more effective stent solutions for enhancing patients' quality of life. Allium Medical has developed site-specific, anatomically and functionally compatible stents with applications in the urinary and gastro-intestinal tracts. Allium was awarded CE marks for its biliary and ureteral stents, commencing sales in Europe in June 2007 and receiving follow-up orders from its distributors thereafter. Distribution of Allium's 3 new stents which also recently received CE Certification (prostatic stent, bladder-neck stent and bulbar urethral stent) will begin after the European Association of Urology meeting to be held in Stockholm on March 17-21, 2009. Allium's headquarters, R&D and manufacturing facilities are located in Caesarea, Israel.

Source
Allium Medical

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