FRANKLIN, Mass., Oct. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- PLC Systems Inc. (Amex: PLC), the
leader in carbon dioxide (CO2) transmyocardial revascularization (TMR), today
announced that the Company held a Northwest-region CO2 TMR training program on
Monday, October 2, 2000 at the Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in
Portland, Oregon. The full-day medical educational program included a bio-
skills training laboratory and a live TMR surgery.
Dr. Anthony P. Furnary, Assistant Professor of Surgery at Oregon Health
Science University and Director of the TMR training seminar, provided an
overview of TMR clinical experiences at the Providence St. Vincent Medical
Center. Dr. Furnary performed a live TMR procedure that provided an
interactive surgical training for the attending surgeons. Dr. Kamuran
Kadipasaoglu, from The Texas Heart Institute in Houston, Texas, also
participated in the seminar. Dr. Kadipasaoglu discussed the key benefits of
CO2 TMR procedure versus other laser modalities.
"I believe that PLC's focus on regionalized training programs has
dramatically increased the seminar attendance," stated PLC Systems' President
and CEO, Mark Tauscher. "Going forward, we plan to continue to implement
programs that educate physicians of the market differentiating features of
PLC's CO2 TMR technology."
Additional CO2 TMR certification sites include: The Rush Heart Institute
at Rush-Presbyterian St. Luke's in Chicago, Illinois; The Texas Heart
Institute in Houston, Texas; and The Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston,
Massachusetts.
Working with leading researchers and premier heart surgery centers around
the world, PLC developed the world's first FDA-approved TMR device, a high-
powered laser known as The Heart Laser System. Designed to perform TMR in the
safest manner possible, The Heart Laser was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration for the treatment of areas of the heart not amenable to direct
revascularization. More than 6,500 patients have been treated by PLC's Heart
Laser.
For more information on PLC and its products, please visit the Company's
Web site at plcmed.com or www.bloodlinelaser.com.
Note: Certain of the above statements are forward-looking statements that
involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from
those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of
factors, including operational changes, competitive developments, regulatory
approval requirements, the ability to convince health care professionals and
third party payers of the medical and economic benefits of The Heart Laser
System, no assurance that all payers will reimburse health care providers who
perform TMR procedures or that reimbursement, if provided, will be adequate,
no assurance that the Company's fee-per-use sales and marketing strategy will
be successful, the Company's need for additional financing to fund operations
and risk factors described in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 30, 2000 and in its other
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE PLC Systems Inc. |
