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Ustwo · 11-01-2007, 12:26 PM

Quote:

COMPANY NEWS; ST. JUDE'S STOCK FALLS AFTER ACQUISITION REPORT

Published: September 11, 1999

Shares of St. Jude Medical Inc., the No. 1 United States maker of mechanical heart valves, fell as much as 20 percent yesterday after it said it had agreed to buy Vascular Science Inc. for about $100 million. St. Jude fell $6.06, to $31.25. The company announced after United States markets closed on Thursday that it would buy closely held Vascular Science Inc., a surgical-device maker which is developing tools for heart-bypass surgery, for $80 million in cash and as much as $20 million based on product-development goals. St. Jude said the purchase would cut earnings by 4 cents a share in the fourth quarter, and as much as 15 cents next year. Most analysts responded by cutting their earnings estimates, though they still recommend the stock.

So they took a $100 million dollar hit to hide a device?

This one?

Quote:

Skeletonized radial artery graft with the St. Jude medical symmetry bypass system (aortic connector system)
Go Watanabe, MD, PhDa*, Hirofumi Takemura, MD, PhDa, Shigeyuki Tomita, MD, PhDa, Hiroshi Nagamine, MD, PhDa, Hiroyuki Kamiya, MD, PhDa, Taro Kanamori, MDa

a Department of General and Cardiothoracic Surgery, Kanazawa University School of Medicine, School of Medicine, Kanazawa, Japan

Accepted for publication October 2, 2003.

* Address reprint requests to Dr Watanabe, Department of General and Cardiothoracic Surgery, Kanazawa University School of Medicine, 13-1 Takaramachi, Kanazawa 920-8641, Japan
e-mail: go@med.kanazawa-u.ac.jp

BACKGROUND: We report our initial experience with an automatic anastomotic device using skeletonized radial artery in patients requiring off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

METHODS: St. Jude Medical, Inc, Symmetry Bypass System (aortic connector system [ACS]) (St Jude Medical, St. Paul, MN) was used in ten patients. Ten consecutive patients who underwent off-pump CABG and who received at least one radial artery graft proximal anastomosis using the ACS were evaluated. The radial artery (RA) was harvested in a skeletonized fashion and applied to the ACS in the same manner as applying saphenous vein graft. The creation of the anastomosis lasted no longer than a few seconds.

RESULTS: Our attempt to use the ACS for proximal anastomosis of the RA was successful in all ten patients. Mean operating time was 3.2 ± 0.6 minutes and an average of 3.0 ± 0.9 bypass grafts (range, 2 to 5 grafts) were performed. There was no postoperative fatal complication. Postoperative angiographic control showed that all grafts were widely patent including grafts other than the RA. During the mean postoperative follow-up of 10.3 ± 2.9 months, there was no cardiac-related event in any patient.

CONCLUSIONS: The St. Jude Medical Symmetry aortic connector system allows the construction of uniform and widely patent anastomoses in RA graft and does not require aortic side biting. Skeletonization of the RA is a safe and effective technique for applying ACS in off-pump CABG using multiple arterial grafts.

and...

Quote:

(2004)
CONCLUSIONS: Automated anastomosis geometry is associated with less critical fluid dynamics than with conventional hand-sewn anastomosis: the shape of the proximal graft induces more physiological wall shear stresses and less oscillating flow, suggesting a lower risk of atherosclerotic plaque and intimal hyperplasia as compared with conventional anastomosis geometry. Therefore, the reported early thrombosis and late failure of the St Jude Medical aortic connector anastomoses are not related to unfavorable fluid dynamics.

http://jtcs.ctsnetjournals.org/cgi/c...ract/128/1/117

Quote:

...But three years ago, on opening day of the golf season, Martin found himself completely out of breath after only one hole. He went to a doctor, but nothing was found. The same problem recurred the following year. Finally, after "turning blue in the face and being scared stiff" on the first day of golfing again last year, Martin sought the advice of a heart specialist.

An angiogram showed that Martin had three blocked arteries. Doctors believed he had experienced a heart attack some time ago, something Martin had not noticed. His doctors attempted an angioplasty procedure, but were not successful in opening up his solidly blocked arteries. They recommended double bypass surgery.

During Martin's surgery, doctors used St. Jude Medical's Symmetry™ Bypass System Aortic Connector, a new sutureless connector device that allows cardiac surgeons to attach saphenous vein grafts to the aorta (anastomosis) without sutures. This innovative device is the first in a line of sutureless anastomoses products for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) procedures.

Martin's recovery was "fantastic". The morning following surgery, he was walking in the hospital corridor with no cane or help from anyone. According to Martin, "The nurse said to me, 'Are you the patient who had surgery yesterday? What are you doing out here already?' "

http://www.sjm.com/successstories/su...Mauk%2C+Martin

There is a reason I don't change my mind often. Its so infrequently wrong.

Edit:

Just checked my post and I cut off the last bit...

Quote:

COMPANY NEWS; ST.JUDE MEDICAL TO STOP MAKING HEART DEVICE

Published: September 25, 2004

St. Jude Medical said it would stop making a device used during heart operations and, as a result, take a one-time charge of $32 million to $37 million in the third quarter. A decline in the number of operations that used the equipment led to the decision to halt production of the device, a symmetry bypass aortic connector, as of Dec. 31, a St. Jude spokesman, Peter Gove, said. The company, based in St. Paul, said it wanted to invest in more profitable products, like defibrillators for correcting irregular heartbeats. St. Jude said on Thursday that it planned to buy Endocardial Solutions, also based in St. Paul, for $273 million to gain defibrillators that detect the most common form of abnormal heart rhythm.

Its been implicated in a large number of lawsuits which is believed to be why St. Jude dropped the product. It was used in at least 25000 operations and the FDA was investigating. Now knowing how scummy lawyers in this are, it could be B.S. but thats another topic.

Perhaps this is the aspect you saw on the device.