New Device Helping Heart Surgery Patients Heal Faster

Tulsa surgeons have a way to help open-heart surgery patients heal faster. News On 6 anchor Latoya Silmon reports doctors from Europe are in town to find out how it works. <br/><br/>It all started with

Friday, November 2nd 2007, 5:00 pm

By: News On 6

Tulsa surgeons have a way to help open-heart surgery patients heal faster. News On 6 anchor Latoya Silmon reports doctors from Europe are in town to find out how it works.

It all started with a promise.

â€œThe one thing I went into medicine for, a long time ago, is when my own child passed away. I promised her that I would try to help others and this one particular thing is allowing me to fill this promise,â€ plastic and reconstructive surgeon Dr. Arch Miller said.

That thing is called the Talon, a surgical closure device Dr. Arch Miller co-designed.

â€œIt makes the closure more stable like this. It won't go back and forth. It holds it together like this and locks automatically,â€ said Dr. Miller.

Dr. Miller says that helps patients heal faster with less pain and risk for infection.

The device has been used on more than 200 operating tables in the country. Now the Talon is going international.

A group of doctors from Germany and the U.K are learning first hand how Tulsa surgeons use it. After they finish observing the real thing, they'll come to a lab at Hillcrest Medical Center where they'll get to practice on cadavers. So they'll be ready for the operating room.

Dr. Miller began developing the Talon in the 1990s. The FDA approved it last year.

Watch the video: Device Helps Patients Heal Sooner