KCI Highlights ABThera™ Open Abdomen Negative Pressure Therapy System at American Association for the Surgery of Trauma Conference Symposium

Kinetic Concepts, Inc. (NYSE: KCI) will highlight the latest addition to the KCI Negative Pressure Technology Platform (NPTP), the ABThera™ Open Abdomen Negative Pressure Therapy System (the ABThera OA NPT System), during a symposium sponsored by the Company on October 2^nd at the 68^th Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, the preeminent annual event for Trauma surgery, in Pittsburgh. The ABThera OA NPT System is an easy-to-use solution designed to assist surgeons in the management and treatment of the open abdomen while helping achieve primary fascial closure.

The symposium will also feature KCI’s new publication on U.S. clinical guidelines for the management of the open abdomen utilizing KCI’s active abdominal management systems. The clinical guidelines, developed by an international expert consensus group of 13 surgeons, provide a novel classification system and recommendations on the practical application of the ABThera OA NPT System.

"This new KCI technology greatly improves the clinical management of patients who require temporary abdominal closure,” said Michael L. Cheatham, M.D., director of the Surgical/Trauma Intensive Care Units at Orlando Regional Medical Center and a member of the consensus group. "A surgeon makes the decision to leave the abdomen open as a result of the complexity of the patient’s critical illness. Innovations such as the consensus group’s classification system and the ABThera OA NPT System represent valuable approaches to improving management of the open abdomen and helping to achieve definitive fascial closure, a situation historically associated with significant morbidity and mortality.”

The symposium, "Latest Perspectives in Management of the Open Abdomen,” will be held Friday, Oct. 2, 6 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. in the Sterlings Room at the Hilton Pittsburgh. Experts in surgical intensive, trauma and critical care will discuss the substantial challenges in managing open abdomen patients.

Dr. Cheatham will moderate the symposium. Additional faculty participants include:

• Mark Kaplan, M.D., chairman, Division of Trauma and Critical Care, and associate chairman, Department of Surgery at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia
• Gary Nieman, B.S., associate professor, senior research scientist, and director, Cardiopulmonary and Critical Care Laboratory at State University of New York-Upstate Medical University Department of Surgery, Syracuse

The symposium will cover contemporary concepts in the pathophysiology of intra-abdominal hypertension and the need for effective management solutions. Current investigative data, as well as the KCI clinical guidelines for management of these complex patients using the ABThera OA NPT System, will be presented.

"Managing patients with open abdomen is not new; however it’s still challenging, even for the most experienced clinicians,” said Luis Toro-Figueroa, M.D., KCI’s vice president of Clinical Strategy and Development. "The importance of the classification system is its relevance in daily practice for clinicians. The suggested classification should help clarify open abdomen management and serve as an invaluable tool that is designed to help improve patient treatment and outcomes.”

KCI’s ABThera OA NPT System’s intended use is in open abdominal wounds, with exposed viscera, including but not limited to abdominal compartment syndrome. KCI estimates there are approximately 250,000 open abdomen procedures performed annually within the U.S. and E.U., representing a potential global opportunity of up to $400 million.

The system, featured at booth 112 during the conference, is indicated for temporary bridging of abdominal wall openings where primary closure is not possible or repeat abdominal entries are necessary.

Importantly the ABThera OA NPT System can be used adjunctively with other KCI products. In the most serious cases, surgeons can use the Strattice™ Reconstructive Tissue Matrix or AlloDerm® Regenerative Tissue Matrix, products from KCI’s regenerative medicine business unit, LifeCell, as a bridging material to help achieve wound closure following the application of the ABThera OA NPT System.

About KCI

Kinetic Concepts, Inc. (NYSE:KCI), is a leading global medical technology company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of innovative, high-technology therapies and products for the wound care, tissue regeneration and therapeutic support system markets. Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, KCI’s success spans more than three decades and can be traced to a history deeply rooted in innovation and a passion for significantly improving the healing and the lives of patients around the world.

The Company employs 6,700 people and markets its products in more than 20 countries. For more information about KCI and how its products are changing the practice of medicine, visit www.KCI1.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding management’s estimated market size for open-abdomen procedures as well as KCI’s expectations for product performance and plans for future product developments and introductions. Forward-looking statements may contain words such as believes, expects, anticipates, estimates, projects, intends, should, seeks, future, continue, or the negative of such terms, or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that are difficult to predict and that could cause actual results to vary materially from those expressed in or indicated by them. In particular, our ability to recognize increased sales and profitability from our ABThera products is subject to all the risks associated with the commercialization of new products based on innovative technologies, including unanticipated technical problems, manufacturing difficulties, gaining customer acceptance and other factors beyond our control. Additional risks and factors are identified in KCI’s filings with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (the SEC), including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2008, and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2009, which are available on the SEC’s Web site at www.sec.gov. KCI undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement, or to make any other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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