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Biotech / Medical : Gliatech (GLIA) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Torben Noerup Nielsen who wrote (1309)	2/5/2000 1:22:00 AM
From: Asymmetric	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2001

Great Post from Yahoo thread (I thought this post was pretty informative. Peter) messages.yahoo.com The good news & bad news... by: equityhawk 2/4/00 4:13 pm Msg: 5899 of 5906 about message boards is that they CAN be a source of useful information and insights, but one must bear in mind nearly ALL comments represent a vested interest of one type or another. As one who is a vested long in the stock and a sales agent for the product, I openly confess my inclined bias towards defending this product and this stock. But I also feel compelled to share with the board my real-world experiences and feedback from living, breathing surgeons who use ADCON-L. First, let's recognize that dural tears are a known potential consequence of lumbar surgery. (Tears happen!) Depending upon a variety of factors...the specific procedure, the surgical technique (i.e. degree of dural manipulation) and surgeon skill, their frequency WILL vary (2-4% is a pretty accepted range). Gliatech has, for as long as I have been associated with the company, always cautioned us and our surgeons about the use of ADCON-L in the presence of a dural tear. Personally, I have recommended to my surgeons that if they have a tear, to either be certain they have a good repair or to err on the side of caution and not use ADCON in that case. But having said that, let me also emphasize that the procedures we are actively promoting ADCON-L be used in are NOT cases that involve a lot of dural manipulation, such as a PLIF---although I know surgeons who have used it without incident in PLIF procedures (specifically redo's)---instead, we're talking about lumbar laminectomies and discectomies. Consequently, the surgeons that I work with have not had problems with the much vaunted dural leaks so dramatized on this board. Two issues we ARE trained on: 1) where the gel has been over-applied. As a molecular barrier, ADCON-L acts on surface coverage rather than on volume and needs only be applied in a 1-2 mm layer over the neuroanatomy. In its current 5g configuration, (come on 3 g!) not all of the contents are required in every case and if OVER-applied can potentially result in a seroma...which on MRI can be misread as a CSF leak. And 2) where epidural steroids are administered before or during surgery. Steroids, which inhibit dural self-healing and ADCON which inhibits peridural fibrosis, could combine to allow a small dural leak to become clinically relevant over time. BOTH are easily avoidable. So do dural leaks happen? Yes, they do...that's why I'd love to have a fibrin glue product to sell. Will they happen in the presence of ADCON-L? Yes, they will--they will happen with or without the application of ADCON-L. Can ADCON-L cause a dural leak? No way! The very name Dura means "tough". Will leaks more often with ADCON-L? Certainly not when it is properly applied. Is this technology going anywhere? Yes, it is! Surgeons who have been without it, thanks to our bud's at the FDA, are telling me they are delighted it is available again and that they WILL be using it again. (Our single, largest user was never without it--thank you GLIATECH!) And having previous experience in the breast implant business, I am very optimistic about ADCON's potential in that arena as a means of reducing an equally frustrating outcome of an otherwise well-executed surgical procedure--capsular contracture. The bottom line is that as long as my doctors are happy...I'm going to be happy...and they will be happy as long as their patients are happy. As noted before, every product has its risk/benefit ratio. PROPER APPLICATION of ADCON-L from my real-world experience is yielding a very favorable ratio for both doctor and patient. And while all the yammering on this board is unsettling, I am convinced that's all it is, "much ado about nothing" and the future is very bright for this company....its stock....and its stockholders. BE STRONG, STAY LONG!