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First-in-Human Safety Study Of Laser Tissue Welding For Surtureless Laparoscopic Partial Nephrectomy

Phase-I Feasibility Trial To Study The Safety Of Laser Tissue Welding For Sealing Resected Kidney Surfaces After Laparoscopic Partial Nephrectomy

Status
Withdrawn
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT02061605
Acronym
LTW-KIDNEY
Enrollment
0
Registered
2014-02-13
Start date
2016-06-30
Completion date
2020-12-31
Last updated
2022-04-06

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Benign Renal Tumors, Malignant Renal Tumors

Keywords

Laparoscopic partial nephrectomy, Surgical hemostasis, Laser tissue welding, Tissue sealant

Brief summary

The objective of this pilot study will be to obtain a clinical safety and efficacy endpoint profile of laser tissue welding therapy for sealing the resected kidney surface after laparoscopic partial nephrectomy required for removal of resectable benign or malignant renal tumors in 10 patients.

Detailed description

SCIENTIFIC RATIONALE: The use of partial nephrectomy to treat small newly diagnosed kidney tumors is vastly under-used as per NCI statistics (http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/treatment/partial-nephrectomy0208). As per the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program, (http://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/kidrp.html), the prevalence of cancer of the kidney and renal pelvis is 296,074 while the estimated new cases are 46,410 and deaths 13,040 in the United States in 2010 (www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/kidney). There has been an increase in detection of incidental small renal mass (≤ 4cm) cases (TNM staging T1a) due to widespread use of ultrasound and abdominal cross sectional imaging (CT, MRI) and thus an increase in the amount of renal surgery performed. Current surgical practice for nephron sparing surgery allows at least 1 cm margin of normal tissue around the tumor3. This is the stage when curative resections are possible. During a partial nephrectomy, the renal artery is clamped to minimize bleeding while resecting the tumor. Since a major reconstruction is required with suturing, clamp time can be significant, anywhere between 15 and 45 minutes. It has been repeatedly shown that reducing clamp time preserves renal function and that there is significant damage to the kidney if the renal artery is clamped for more than 30 minutes. This is especially crucial when dealing with patients with hypertension, diabetes, chronic renal failure or a tumor in a single kidney. Extended clamp time can result in decreased renal function and ultimately the need for dialysis at some point. Because of the inherent difficulties of laparoscopic suturing, this has not been widely used particularly in view of the risk of prolonged warm ischemia time. Many patients therefore undergo a radical nephrectomy instead of a nephron sparing procedure. Hemorrhage 9.5% (1) , is the major complication following partial nephrectomy. Besides bleeding (1) urinary fistula (4.5%), ureteral obstruction, and renal insufficiency due to prolonged warm ischemia times are further complications of partial nephrectomy. Laser Tissue Welding is the first combination (laser and biologic) class III surgical device intended to join and seal tissues accurately and instantly. The treatment process uses thermal energy created when a laser excites photosensitive dye molecules, to coagulate the protein albumin which transforms from a liquid to a solid instantly. Laser tissue welding creates a non-compressive, non-ablative sealing of tissues with microscopic thermal damage. This combination of a laser with albumin biologics stops bleeding and fluid leaks in nanoseconds without using sutures, hemostatic clotting factors (platelets/thrombin/fibrin), thermal or cryoablation. (Video: http://www.lasertissuewelding.com/application.aspx?AID=8)

Interventions

DEVICELaser Tissue Welding Device

Laparoscopic partial nephrectomy will be robotically assisted using the second generation da Vinci® Surgical System. Once the tumor is resected with laparoscopic scissors with a margin of healthy tissue, the solder will be dripped onto the cut surface of the parenchyma. A laparoscopic rigid 5mm spot-size laser hand-piece will be passed through the 10-mm port. The diode laser will be then used to weld a thin layer of solder onto the cut parenchymal surface. The 60 Watt 810-nm diode laser will be set to deliver continuous energy. During soldering, the tip of the laparoscopic laser hand-piece will be maintained 1 to 2 cm from the renal surface to generate a spot size of approximately 5 mm. Each spot will be treated with the laser until the color of the solder changes from green to white. The renal pedicle clamp will be removed to allow renal blood supply to be restored and the surgical site inspected for evidence of bleeding for 10 minutes prior to completing the surgical procedure.

Sponsors

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
CollaboratorNIH
Laser Tissue Welding, Inc.
Lead SponsorINDUSTRY

Study design

Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

1. T1a (\< 4 cm). All resectable benign, primary or secondary malignant tumors of one kidney. No bi-lateral disease. 2. Serum creatinine: ≤ 2.5 mg/dL 3. Glomerular filtration rate greater than ≥ 50 ml/min/m2 4. Platelet count ≥ 50,000/mm3 5. Prothrombin time \< 18 seconds 6. Partial thromboplastin time (PTT) ≤ 1.5 times control 7. Serum albumin levels \> 3g/dL (Normal range 3.5 to 5 g/dL)

Exclusion criteria

1. Age younger than 18 years old 2. Severe uncorrected hypertension 3. Uncorrectable coagulopathies 4. Pregnancy 5. Active urinary tract infection 6. T1b (\>4 cm) lesion and above 7. Systemic or local infection 8. Subject has known allergy or intolerance to iodine or human serum albumin 9. Recent febrile illness that precludes or delays participation pre-operatively 10. Treatment with another investigational drug or other intervention during the study and follow-up period.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Operative Blood LossDay 1Operative blood loss is defined by: Volume of blood in the suction bottles, volume of blood clots, and weight of surgical towels before and after use. Clinical assessment of the blood loss: Clinical drop in hemoglobin (1 gm. % = 300 ml) without hemo-dilution. Therefore is correlated with blood products transfused to compensate for the blood lost during surgery.
Postoperative Blood LossUp to 30 daysClinical assessment of the blood loss: 1. Clinical drop in hemoglobin (1 gm. % = 300 ml) without hemodilution. Therefore is correlated with blood products transfused to compensate for the blood lost post-operatively. 2. Correlated to post-operative JP tube drainage, amount and type.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Urinary stone formation (safety issue no. 4)Up to 12 monthsTo see if the protein solder is a nidus for stone formation
Secondary hemorrhage or hematoma (safety issue no. 1)Up to 12 monthsPost-operative blood loss requiring return to the operating room
Post-operative urinary leakage/ urinoma (safety issue no. 2)Up to 12 monthsUrinary leakage is measured in drainage bottles (ml/day) following surgery till a drain placed during the operation is removed before patient discharge. Accumulation of fluids around the kidney (blood or urine) will be assessed with U/S and CT scan at the mentioned time points.
Secondary infection, intra-abdominal abscess formation and septicemia (safety issue no. 3)Up to 12 monthsSurgical space abscess

Other

MeasureTime frameDescription
Nephrectomy clamp time (minutes) (Duration Metric-2)Day 1Observed intra-operatively. Assesses organ ischemia time and will correlate with compromised renal function post-surgery.
Laser tissue welding time (sec/cm2) (Duration Metric-3)Day 1Observed intra-operatively: Cumulative time to complete hemostasis. This will be compared to current standard of care time-to-hemostasis using suture closure which is anywhere between 15 and 45 minutes since a major renal reconstruction is required with suturing and therefore correlated to significant clamp time, renal ischemia and renal dysfunction.
Length of ICU stay (Duration Metric-4)Up to 12 monthsNumber of days spent in intensive care unit (ICU).
Length hospital stay ((Duration Metric-5)Up to 12 monthsTotal time spent as an in-patient
Total operating time (minutes) (Duration Metric -1)Day 1Observed operative period

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026