Medtronic Recognizes Recipient of World Journal of Surgery ''Best of 2008'' Award
MINNEAPOLIS-(Business Wire)-September 11, 2009 - Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) today recognized Henning Dralle, M.D., Professor at the University of Halle-Wittenberg in Halle, Germany, who received the World Journal of Surgery award for Best Paper of 2008. Professor Dralle received the award as lead author for the paper, “Intraoperative Monitoring of the Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve in Thyroid Surgery,” published in the Feb. 2008 issue of WJS, on Sunday, Sept. 6 at the annual International Surgical Week conference in Adelaide, Australia. Professor Dralle accepted this award on behalf of the paper’s co- authors and the German IONM (Intraoperative Nerve Monitoring) Study Group.
“We commend Professor Dralle for his excellent work in identifying risk-minimizing tools to avoid recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy,” said Carla Pagotto, Product Manager for Intraoperative Nerve Monitoring with Medtronic ENT, part of the Surgical Technologies business at Medtronic. “Tools like Medtronic’s own intraoperative nerve integrity monitors are designed to combine both hardware electronics and software to help surgeons perform critical procedures while preserving nerve function and improving patient safety.”
In the award-winning paper, Professor Dralle concludes, “Apart from navigating the surgeon through challenging anatomies, intraoperative nerve monitoring may lend itself as a routine adjunct to the gold standard of visual nerve identification.”
Motor nerves perform critical functions in the human body. Specifically, cranial nerves from the brain perform critical functions in the head, face, and neck. At times, these nerves are hard to identify during surgery due to disease, a previous operation, or normal anatomical variations. Patients can suffer temporary or permanent damage if a nerve is irritated or injured.
As Professor Dralle’s paper discusses, the recurrent laryngeal nerve, a branch of the vagus nerve, is one of the nerves at risk during thyroid surgery and other neck dissections. Damaging this nerve can severely impact an individual’s ability to speak and swallow. Intraoperative nerve monitoring can help surgeons reduce the risk of nerve damage during surgery, giving patients and surgeons greater peace-of-mind.
Published monthly, the World Journal of Surgery reaches an international audience and communicates important advances in surgical techniques and research to professionals and students in the field of surgery.
About the Surgical Technologies Business at Medtronic
Medtronic’s Surgical Technologies business develops products for the diagnosis and treatment of chronic diseases and disorders of the ear, nose and throat; surgical devices and implantable products for the treatment of cranial, spinal and specialty small-bone conditions; and state-of-the-art navigation equipment used in operating rooms to assist physicians in neuro and spinal surgery procedures.
About Medtronic
Medtronic, Inc. (www.medtronic.com), headquartered in Minneapolis, is the global leader in medical technology – alleviating pain, restoring health, and extending life for millions of people around the world.
Any forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties such as those described in Medtronic’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended April 24, 2009. Actual results may differ materially from anticipated results.
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