CryoLife Conducts Cardiac Reconstruction Surgery Symposium

ATLANTA, Oct. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CryoLife, Inc. (NYSE: CRY), a biomaterials and biosurgical device company, announced today that it is conducting a cardiac reconstruction symposium utilizing human heart valves and tissues at its corporate headquarters training facility in Kennesaw, Georgia, from October 6-8. The program will include the following: Current indications, current clinical outcomes, and surgical techniques associated with aortic valve replacement utilizing allografts; aortic valve replacement utilizing pulmonary allografts in association with the Ross Procedure; and state of the art and future advances in the science of tissue engineering and remodeling as related to cardiac reconstruction options.

Steven G. Anderson, President and CEO of CryoLife, Inc., stated, "As a leading company in human tissue transplantation, we are pleased to conduct this symposium, which includes advanced cardiac surgical training by some of the world's most highly regarded cardiovascular surgeons at our state-of-the- art facility and laboratories. Reconstructive heart surgery to replace damaged or diseased heart valves using human aortic and pulmonary valves is often the best and sometimes the only viable option for many patients, particularly children and women of child-bearing age."

A distinguished and highly experienced faculty includes: Sir Professor Magdi Yacoub, FRS, a pioneer in the field of heart transplantation, Chairman of The Magdi Yacoub Institute at The Imperial Hospital Heart Science Center, London, U.K.; John W. Brown, M.D., Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN; Karen S. Kunzelman, Ph.D., Director of Research, Central Maine Heart and Vascular Institute, Lewiston, ME; John D. Oswalt, M.D., Cardiothoracic & Vascular Surgeons, PA., Austin, TX; Paul E. Stelzer, M.D., Associate Professor of Surgery, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, NY; and Kenton J. Zehr, Associate Professor of Surgery, The Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.

The program director is Ronald C. Elkins, M.D., Professor Emeritus, Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK. Dr. Steven Goldstein, Ph.D., Senior Director, Tissue Technologies at CryoLife and Scott D. Rollins, Director, Allograft Technologies at CryoLife, are also on the faculty.

About CryoLife

Founded in 1984, CryoLife, Inc. is a leader in the processing and distribution of implantable living human tissues for use in cardiovascular, vascular, and orthopaedic surgeries throughout the United States and Canada. The Company's BioGlue(R) Surgical Adhesive is FDA approved as an adjunct to sutures and staples for use in adult patients in open surgical repair of large vessels and is CE marked in the European Community and approved in Canada for use in soft tissue repair and approved in Australia for use in vascular and pulmonary sealing and repair.

For additional information about the Company, visit CryoLife's Web site: http://www.cryolife.com

Contact: Joseph T. Schepers

Vice President, Corporate Communications

(770) 419-3355

SOURCE CryoLife, Inc.