Baxano Surgical Announces Patent Issuance for the

RALEIGH, N.C., Oct. 29, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Baxano Surgical, Inc. (Nasdaq: BAXS ), a medical device company focused on designing, developing and marketing minimally invasive products to treat degenerative conditions of the lumbar spine, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued US Patent 8,568,306 covering the direct visualization approach of the VEO® Lateral Access and Interbody Fusion System. The VEO direct visualization approach was designed to help minimize surgical trauma to the psoas muscle and the nerve plexus and reduce the risk of post-operative complications.

The VEO Lateral System was launched in early 2012 and features a streamlined, radiolucent access retractor and a comprehensive portfolio of discectomy instrumentation and implants.

"The VEO Lateral System brings clear and direct visualization to lateral fusion surgery," stated Ken Reali, President and CEO of Baxano Surgical. "Through a combination of direct psoas visualization and clear lateral fluoroscopic views, we believe VEO allows surgeons to focus on the patient, not the product."

The VEO Lateral System employs similar patient positioning, discectomy and implant placement as other lateral systems on the market, and is compatible with neuromonitoring. However, VEO is uniquely designed for direct visualization of the psoas muscle and associated nerves throughout dissection of the psoas, due to the proprietary two-stage retraction process with shallow docking. "This critical step allows surgeons to augment neuromonitoring with one of their most-trusted tools, the sense of sight," said Dr. Mitchell A. Hardenbrook, patent-owner and board-certified spine surgeon practicing at the Advanced Spine Institute of Greater Boston, MA.

About Baxano Surgical, Inc.

Baxano Surgical, Inc. is a medical device company focused on designing, developing, and marketing minimally invasive products to treat degenerative conditions of the spine affecting the lumbar region. Baxano Surgical currently markets the AxiaLIF family of products for single and two level lower lumbar fusion, the VEO lateral access and interbody fusion system, the iO-Flex system, a proprietary set of flexible instruments used by surgeons during spinal decompression procedures and the iO-Tome ^TM instrument, which rapidly and precisely removes bone, specifically the facet joints, which is commonly performed in spinal fusion procedures. Baxano Surgical was founded in May 2000 and is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information, visit www.baxanosurgical.com .

AxiaLIF®, VEO, and iO-Flex® are registered trademarks of Baxano Surgical.

Investors: Westwicke Partners Mark Klausner, 443-213-0501