BOULDER - Health-care company Covidien Plc (NYSE: COV) has received a new approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to use its LigaSure surgical cutting device on certain ear, nose and throat procedures.

The LigaSure surgical cutting device is made at the Boulder campus, said John Jordan, a Covidien spokesman based in Massachusetts. About 160,000 such ear, nose and throat procedures are done in the United States annually, according to a Covidien press statement. The device was first cleared for use in general surgery by the FDA in February 2011.

LigaSure sales are expected to increase as a result of the FDA approval, but employee head count is not expected to change at the Boulder campus, Jordan said. The device is disposed of after one use, Jordan said.

Covidien employs more than 1,850 workers in Boulder - more than 1,400 in the surgical solutions unit and about 450 in the respiratory and monitoring solutions unit, Jordan said.

The FDA approval is a "major milestone" for the company, Bryan Hanson, group president for surgical solutions at Covidien, said in a press statement. Hanson oversees the Boulder unit, a Covidien campus in New Haven, Connecticut, and one in Trevoux, France, from his office in New Haven.
 
"LigaSure technology has set the industry standard in vessel sealing since 1998," Hanson said. "This technology has been used in millions of surgical procedures worldwide and is supported by an ever-growing body of evidence-based research."

Covidien manufactures, distributes and services medical-device products, pharmaceuticals and medical supplies. The company posted 2011 revenue of $11.6 billion. Covidien has 43,000 workers in more than 65 countries.