US go-ahead for Surgical Innovations obesity device

SURGICAL Innovations is looking to take advantage of efforts to cut obesity in the United States after receiving approval for a new device.

Logi®Flex is used in gastric band and other obesity-related procedures which has now been given clearance by the Food and Drug Administration in the US.

Some 250,000 anti-obesity procedures are performed every year in the US where the condition is the second largest cause of preventable deaths and affects more than 60m people.

Graham Bowland, chief executive of the Leeds-based group, said: “We are delighted to be able to announce this approval which will see the pioneering device now being sold into the US. 

“The majority of surgical instruments in the US are single use; however with growing financial constraints being placed on hospital budgets, procurement managers are continuously looking for cost effective instrumentation and Logi®Flex offers the ideal high quality, cost effective solution.”

The Logi®Flex device is an instrument used to help surgeons fix gastric band around the top of a patient’s stomach and includes parts that can be used more than once.

Surgical Innovations recorded revenues of £4.5m for 2009 and earlier this year received its single biggest ever contract order.