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The Glycar Pericardial Patch is a strong, biocompatible, and easy-to-handle patch for cardiovascular and vascular procedures
The Glycar Pericardial Patch
A Dependable Choice for Repair and Reconstruction
The Glycar Pericardial Patch is a strong, biocompatible, and easy-to-handle patch for cardiovascular and vascular procedures.
Made from bovine pericardium including a proprietary aldehyde capping process, this patch offers a unique combination of benefits:
Excellent Handling and Suturability: Compared to synthetic patches, the Bovine Pericardial Patch is much easier to manipulate and suture. This translates to smoother procedures and potentially reduced surgical time.
Biocompatibility: The natural collagen structure of the patch is closely matched by human tissue, promoting excellent incorporation and reducing the risk of rejection.
Enhanced Strength and Flexibility: A special cross-linking process strengthens the patch while maintaining its natural flexibility, allowing it to conform to complex anatomical shapes.
Reduced Bleeding: Bovine pericardial patches are known to cause significantly less bleeding along the suture line compared to synthetic alternatives.
Intended Use
The Glycar Pericardial Patch with EnCap™ technology is intended to be used for pericardial closure, or repair and/or reconstruction of cardiovascular structures by replacing missing tissue, reinforcing weakened tissue, and providing extra strength to tissue during healing.
No risk of reciprocal interference
These patches are manufactured from bovine pericardium and there are no metallic components. Therefore, there are no MRI concerns or interference regarding the functioning of the implant. They may be considered as MR Safe.
Lifetime
The implant survival time of Glycar Pericardial Patches is expected to match the lifetime of the patient because the implanted biological material acts as a scaffold that is over time remodelled and endothelialized by the patient’s own cells. Collagen-rich implants such as Glycar’s pericardial patches made of bovine pericardium undergo a process similar to wound healing after implantation, starting with recruitment of neutrophils and monocytes to the surface of the implant, followed by a granulation phase in which phagocytes remove debris and signal to fibroblasts and smooth muscle cells to start remodelling, resulting in healing1,2. When the implant is in contact with the blood stream, patches are endothelialized and develop a neointima layer, with vessel remodelling and healing characterized by infiltration of macrophages and arterial precursor cells3.
Citations:
1) Delgado, Tissue Eng – Part B Rev. 21(3):298–313, 2015
2) Simionescu, Int J Inflam. 2011:1–11, 2011
3) Li, PLoS One;7(6), 2012
Pliable
Resistant to tearing
Durable
Easy to handle and use
Strong - high tensile strength
Uniform thickness allowing for ease of suturing
Our Legacy
After a distinguished career as a pioneering cardiovascular surgeon at both the Mayo Clinic in the USA and Groote Schuur Hospital (in the department that completed the world’s first successful heart transplant) in South Africa, Prof Frater decided to focus on creating a revolutionary new type of stentless heart-valve. The creation of this new valve required the use of treated bovine pericardium and it was during the research into formulating a novel pericardial treatment that the Glycar patch was born. Initial research focussed on using proven gluteraldehyde washes together with other chemical treatments that would fully neutralise the toxic effect of the GA, while maintaining the strengthening potential of GA crosslinking.