Extracellular Matrix Makes Carotid Endarterectomy Easier

The decellularized ECM scaffold material allows the patient’s cells to migrate and integrate, stimulating the patient’s natural wound-healing mechanisms. As the patient’s own cells become active, they deposit collagen, and the implant is gradually replaced by the body with a strong and permanent tissue repair, leaving behind remodeled functional tissue where scar tissue or injured tissue would normally be expected.

Porcine SIS is located between the mucosal and muscular layers of the small intestine. In addition to being a repository for growth factors, it provides strength to the small intestine through a complex organization of collagen that forms a fibrous matrix. The SIS is extracted from the intestine in a manner that removes all cells, but leaves the complex ECM intact. Careful processing and manufacturing result in the CorMatrix implant device. The CorMatrix ECM is a product of CorMatrix (Atlanta, GA, USA), and has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“We believe the unique properties of our CorMatrix material provide a new and vital alternative to current approaches in carotid artery repair,” said David Camp, chairman and CEO of CorMatrix. “Having received numerous inquiries from the clinical surgery community for a product to address this clinical need, we were very pleased with the timely manner in which FDA reviewed and cleared this submission.”

“The peripheral vascular surgery community is quite familiar with the use of the CorMatrix technology by cardiac surgeons for pericardial reconstruction and cardiovascular repair,” said W. Darrin Clouse, MD, of the University of California Davis Medical Center (Sacramento, USA). “We are excited to have a unique CorMatrix material, with several potentially advantageous properties, now available for use in carotid endarterectomy.”

While the composition of ECM varies by tissue, it is generally composed of four major types of molecules; structural proteins, such as collagen and elastin; adhesion glycoproteins, such as fibronectin and laminin; glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and proteoglycans, such as hyaluronan, heparin sulfate, heparin and dermatan sulfate; and matricellular proteins, such as tenascins, thrombospondins, and osteopontin.

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