Getinge program recognizes dedicated North American vessel harvesters
Over the past two decades, over three million heart surgery patients have been treated with Getinge’s innovative solutions for Endoscopic Vessel Harvesting (EVH) – and some of the most dedicated clinicians in North America performing EVH are recognized by membership in the Getinge EVH Circle of Excellence.
“We are thrilled to recognize clinicians who continue the legacy of EVH procedures. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people around the world need treatment for blocked or damaged coronary arteries. The EVH Circle of Excellence program and its recognized members help us highlight the advantages of EVH compared to traditional methods,” says Matthew Clemente, EVH Senior Global Therapy Development Manager at Getinge.
Originally launched in 2004, the EVH Circle of Excellence Program honors key endoscopic vessel harvesters who are driving EVH adoption, positive patient outcomes, and have helped make EVH the standard of care in North America.
The current version of the program was launched in 2020, and Getinge has recognized well over 400 harvesters across the United States and Canada since then.
“The big overhaul in the past two years has turned the EVH Circle of Excellence into a successful clinician recognition program – and it will continue to grow as dedicated vessel harvesters push us towards four, five, even ten million procedures performed, with our solutions, in the coming years,” Matthew says.
The members are divided into three categories based on their number of EVH cases, regardless of device or manufacturer used. Members of the highest level have performed over 2,000 procedures.
Learn more about the Getinge EVH Circle of Excellence >>>
About Endoscopic Vessel Harvesting
A Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) surgery involves removing a blood vessel from the chest, arms, and/or legs and using it to bypass the blocked coronary artery. This allows blood to reach the heart again.
While traditional harvesting involves standard surgical instruments and long incisions to remove the vessel, Endoscopic Vessel Harvesting uses special instruments to perform this less invasive procedure. With EVH, the surgeon can remove the same length of the vessel through a small incision in the leg or arm.
“Using the endoscope technique is less painful, provides minimal scarring, and enables earlier mobility that may help the patient recover faster. It also reduces the risk of wound infections, which in turn could shorten a patient’s hospital stay. This is, of course, an important factor for reducing hospital costs,” Matthew explains.