Scout Vessel Guard
Anterior spine surgery has been evolving since its inception in the early 1900s. Many technique improvements have helped address the challenge of mobilizing the anterior abdominal muscles, peritoneal sac, and great vessels, which is necessary to access the disc space. Protecting these sensitive vessels still remains a major challenge for this approach, especially during surgical revisions.
The ability to protect sensitive vessels during a primary anterior spinal surgery is of utmost importance. It is particularly desirable to limit contact between these vessels and any implanted device and/or inflammatory graft materials.
The Scout Vessel Guard has been designed with this very protection in mind. The guard is placed over the implanted materials, residing between the anterior spine and adjacent vessels, and provides improved protection to sensitive areas. The Scout Vessel Guard is a permanent implant. In the event that a revision surgery of the anterior spine is needed, the guard will be present and is able to be clearly visualized and identified. The presence of the Scout Vessel Guard then also helps the surgeon locate important surgical landmarks during challenging cases.
The Scout Vessel Guard is made of Hydrogel, a water-swollen, crosslinked polymer structure that can be produced to achieve various geometries and ranges of material properties. This product was developed to provide exceptional handling characteristics, minimal pore size, maximal surface smoothness, and easy size customization of the one and two level footprints offered. The cryogenic hydrogel formulation used in the Scout Vessel Guard is approximately 75% water, with the balance being a novel blend of mostly polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and a small amount of polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP). This hydrophilic material is packaged and provided hydrated, requiring minimal prep time in the OR.
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