REDWOOD CITY, CA--(MARKET WIRE)--Jan 7, 2009 -- Cardica, Inc. (NasdaqGM:CRDC - News) today announced the webcast of a robot-assisted, closed-chest coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) procedure performed by internationally renowned cardiothoracic surgeon Sudhir Srivastava, M.D., of the University of Chicago Medical Center, using Cardica's C-Port® Flex-A® Anastomosis System. Husam H. Balkhy, M.D., chairman of the Department of Cardiac and Vascular Surgery and head of the robotics program at The Wisconsin Heart Hospital, moderates the procedure and explains critical aspects of the surgery. The 75-minute webcast of this minimally invasive surgery will take place January 7, 2009 at 5:00PM EST on www.OR-Live.com and can be accessed through Cardica's website at www.cardica.com.

Source: OR-Live, Inc.
Cardica's C-Port Flex-A system, an automated device that deploys tiny, stainless steel staples to attach the bypass vessel graft to the coronary artery, a connection known as an anastomosis. ·  View This Webcast ·  About OR-Live

During the procedure, Dr. Srivastava used Intuitive Surgical's da Vinci® Surgical System robot in combination with Cardica's C-Port Flex-A system, an automated device that deploys tiny, stainless steel staples to attach the bypass vessel graft to the coronary artery, a connection known as an anastomosis. By automating the attachment of blood vessel grafts, the C-Port Flex-A system replaces traditional hand-sewn sutures. The robotic CABG procedure was performed off-pump, meaning while the heart is still beating, without the need to use a heart-lung machine and without the need to create a sternotomy, which splits the breastbone (sternum) to gain access to the heart.

Dr. Srivastava performed the surgery on a 79-year-old male patient with 2-vessel coronary artery disease to his left anterior descending and obtuse marginal coronary arteries. Following the surgery, the patient did extremely well and resumed his routine activities within two weeks.

"Robotic, closed-chest, off-pump CABG surgery generally provides numerous patient benefits, including quicker surgery, a shorter hospital stay, less scarring, significantly faster recovery and return to everyday activity, and reduced risk of complications," said Dr. Srivastava, director of robotic and minimally invasive cardiac surgery at The University of Chicago Medical Center. "Because the C-Port Flex-A system helps facilitate robotic minimally invasive cardiac surgery, I expect more cardiac surgeons to adopt minimally invasive CABG procedures."

To date, Dr. Srivastava has completed 34 anastomoses in single and multi-vessel beating heart da Vinci revascularization procedures using the C-Port Flex-A system through small incisions in the chest cavity that create finger-size ports. Of 32 grafts studied, all were determined to be patent, or open, based on an analysis of pre-discharge angiography.

"I believe the C-Port Flex-A system represents a breakthrough in distal anastomosis devices. It facilitates and simplifies robotic CABG procedures, thereby allowing more surgeons to offer patients minimally invasive cardiac surgery," said Dr. Balkhy. "Because the C-Port Flex-A system can be used to create anastomoses on a beating heart, the patient may not need cardiopulmonary bypass or cardioplegic arrest of the heart, which can be associated with adverse outcomes."

The C-Port System Advantage

Cardica's C-Port systems are designed to enable automated, reliable and reproducible connections of blood vessels during CABG surgery. Unlike most hand-sewn anastomoses, Cardica's C-Port systems enable a compliant anastomosis that can expand and contract with blood-flow. The C-Port Flex-A system is designed to deploy staples around the periphery of the anastomosis to help provide leak-proof sealing without the need for additional stitches at either end of the anastomosis. It can be used in either on- or off-pump CABG procedures. The C-Port Flex-A system has a flexible, rather than rigid, shaft and is designed to create compliant anastomoses in vessels as small as 1 millimeter in internal diameter. Importantly, the flexible shaft is designed to allow surgeons to position the device to create a secure connection even in difficult to reach areas of the heart.

About Intuitive's Products

The da Vinci® Surgical System consists of a surgeon's viewing and control console having an integrated, high-performance InSite® 3-D vision system, a patient-side cart consisting of three or four robotic arms that position and precisely maneuver endoscopic instruments and an endoscope, and a variety of articulating EndoWrist® Instruments. By integrating computer-enhanced technology with surgeons' technical skills, Intuitive believes that its system enables surgeons to perform better surgery in a manner never before experienced. The da Vinci® Surgical System seamlessly and directly translates the surgeon's natural hand, wrist and finger movements on instrument controls at the surgeon's console outside the patient's body into corresponding micro-movements of the instrument tips positioned inside the patient through small puncture incisions, or ports.

About OR-Live

OR-Live is the world's leading surgical broadcasting company, providing communication solutions to hospitals, device manufacturers, and pharmaceutical companies that demonstrate, communicate, and educate the latest clinical and technological advances in surgery to surgeons, physicians, allied health professionals, and consumers. The OR-Live broadcasting network provides an intimate look at over 600 live and on-demand surgeries to a global audience, streaming over 23,000 hours of programming each month. The OR-Live network can be found on-line at www.OR-Live.com.

About Cardica, Inc.

Cardica is a leading provider of automated anastomosis systems for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. By replacing hand-sewn sutures with easy-to-use automated systems, Cardica's products provide cardiovascular surgeons with rapid, reliable and consistently reproducible anastomoses, or connections of blood vessels, often considered the most critical aspect of the CABG procedure. Cardica's C-Port® Distal Anastomosis Systems are marketed in Europe and the United States. The PAS-Port® Proximal Anastomosis System is marketed in Europe and Japan, and Cardica has received 510(k) clearance to market the PAS-Port system in the United States. Cardica also is developing additional devices with Cook Medical to facilitate vascular closure and other surgical procedures.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking" statements, including statements relating to the impact of the adoption of Cardica's C-Port systems on the future use of closed-chest CABG procedures and potential patient benefits related thereto. Any statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. The words "believe," "may," "expect" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause Cardica's results to differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements, including risks associated with market acceptance of Cardica's C-Port systems and long-term patency of CABG grafts completed with Cardica's C-Port systems, as well as other risks detailed from time to time in Cardica's SEC reports, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2008. Cardica expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein. You are encouraged to read the company's reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, available at www.sec.gov.

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     Contacts:
     Bob Newell
     Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer
     Cardica, Inc.
     (650) 331-7133
     investors@cardica.com
      
     Daryl Messinger
     WeissComm Partners, Inc.
     (415) 999-2361
     dmessinger@wcpglobal.com