Strauss Surgical Announces Release of the Cobra® Arthroscopic Suture Passer With Integrated Reusable Steel Needle

MIAMI, FL, March 31, 2016 (Newswire.com) - Strauss Surgical, a Miami-based manufacturer of endoscopes and surgical instrumentation, recently announced the release and patent pending of the Cobra® Suture Passer with an Integrated Reusable Steel Needle.

The Cobra® is the first arthroscopic mechanical suture passer which performs precise grasping and suture passing without the need for any disposable needle cartridge, due to its Integrated Reusable Steel Needle.

"In addition to performance improvements, the Cobra® will reduce procedure costs by as much as 17 percent."

Charlie Bourland, President

Most suture passers use a disposable nitinol needle, which is bent within an instrument in order to pass suture through a tendon. By contrast, the Cobra® uses a proprietary hardened stainless steel alloy to form a curved needle in its natural state.

“After six years of research and development, we are pleased to have completed the design and development of the first arthroscopic mechanical suture passer which does not require a disposable needle. Standard suture passers normally use disposable nitinol needles that need to be bent in order to pass through tendons. These disposable needles are expensive and are prone to breaking off inside the joint space,” said Charlie Bourland, President of Strauss Surgical. “The Cobra® is the first suture passer with an Integrated Reusable Steel Needle made out of a hardened proprietary stainless steel alloy. In addition to performance improvements, the Cobra® will reduce procedure costs by as much as 17 percent.”

There are several major clinical needs which are being met with the Cobra®, including safety and performance. Regarding safety, there have been many adverse events reported to the FDA of nitinol needles breaking off into the patient’s joint space, which is often times, unrecoverable. The Cobra®’s needle technology is naturally curved, does not need to be bent, and has an ultimate tensile strength (UTS) far superior than nitinol. The Cobra® performs better than nitinol in passing through the tendon in certain difficult cases such as calcified rotator cuff tendons or thick cuffs. Finally, nitinol needles are prone to oblique migration through a fibrous tendon, but the Cobra®’s needle is precise with no migration.

An additional benefit of the Cobra® is cost savings. The cost of using disposable nitinol needles is normally between $165 and $200 per rotator cuff repair surgery. As a percentage of the total cost for a rotator cuff repair, this represents a whopping 9-17% of the total facility case cost depending on the number of suture anchors used. In fact, the needle is the second largest cost behind the shoulder anchor implant. As such, the Cobra® can help save millions of dollars for healthcare facilities worldwide.  Finally, the Cobra® is a green technology, eliminating medical waste and reducing inventory costs.

About Strauss Surgical

Strauss Surgical is an innovative manufacturer of endoscopes and specialty surgical instrumentation. Our product line includes Strauss Optiks® Autoclavable HD endoscopes and instrumentation used in arthroscopy, laparoscopy and urological procedures.

For more information, please visit http://www.straussurgical.com/, email sales@straussurgical.com, or call 305-436-0599.

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