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                                                                    EXHIBIT 99.3



ECLIPSE SURGICAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND CARDIOGENESIS CORP. TO COMBINE

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Oct. 22 -- Eclipse Surgical Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: ESTI)
and CardioGenesis Corporation (Nasdaq: CGCP) today announced the signing of a
definitive agreement that provides for the business combination of the two
companies.

Under the terms of the definitive agreement, each share of CardioGenesis common
stock will be converted into the right to receive 0.8 shares of Eclipse common
stock, and Eclipse will assume all outstanding CardioGenesis stock options.
CardioGenesis will survive as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eclipse. As a result
of the transaction, Eclipse will increase its shares outstanding by
approximately 9.8 million shares, which will be issued to CardioGenesis
stockholders. These shares will represent approximately 36% of Eclipse's
outstanding shares after the transaction. The transaction is structured to
qualify as a tax-free reorganization to be accounted for as a pooling of
interests.

The Boards of Directors of Eclipse and CardioGenesis have approved the
definitive agreement, but the combination is subject to approval by the
shareholders of each company and to certain other customary conditions to
closing. Certain affiliates of both Eclipse and CardioGenesis have agreed to
vote their shares in favor of the combination. The parties anticipate the
transaction will close in the first calendar quarter of 1999.

"We believe the combined entity will have a multi-year lead in FDA clinical
trial progress over any other fiberoptic TMR competitor," said Douglas
Murphy-Chutorian, M.D., Chairman and CEO of Eclipse. "The combined patent
portfolio of the two companies will be very strong, and our market share will
rise to over 300 installed laser systems -- many of which are in the largest or
most influential cardiovascular centers in the world."

"The combination of these two companies leverages leading positions in
percutaneous and surgical TMR, talented employees, and capital resources, and
will provide an excellent product platform to best serve our customers' needs,"
said Allen W. Hill, President and CEO of CardioGenesis. "We look forward to
working together with Eclipse to create the clear "full play" leader in the TMR
market."

Dr. Murphy-Chutorian, Eclipse's current Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,
will remain Eclipse's Chairman of the Board. Mr. Hill, CardioGenesis current
President and Chief Executive Officer, will become Eclipse's Chief Executive
Officer. Eclipse's Board of Directors will consist of four directors from the
current Eclipse Board and three directors from the current CardioGenesis Board.

Eclipse and CardioGenesis, both based in Sunnyvale, California, are medical
device companies which develop, manufacture, and market cardiac
revascularization products for the treatment of advanced cardiovascular disease
and severe angina pain through 


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TMR and PTMR. Transmyocardial Revascularization ("TMR") and Percutaneous
Transluminal Myocardial Revascularization ("PTMR") are investigational laser
heart treatments in which channels are made in the heart muscle. TMR is
performed by a cardiac surgeon through a small incision in the chest. PTMR is
performed by a cardiologist in a catheter-based procedure performed under local
anesthesia. It is believed these procedures encourage new vessel formation, or
angiogenesis, and result in a reduction of angina pain. For more information
about these companies, please visit their respective websites at
http://www.eclipsesurge.com and http://www.cardiogenesis.com.

Any forward looking statements in this news release are based on current
expectations and beliefs and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties
that could cause the actual results to differ materially. Factors that could
cause actual results to differ materially include uncertainty related to
consummation of proposed combination, the ability to obtain stockholder
approval, the timing of the effectiveness of the registration statement to be
filed with the SEC, difficulties of integrating the two companies' operations,
uncertainties associated with clinical trials, no assurance of FDA approval, no
assurance of market acceptance, no assurance of third-party reimbursement,
dependence on a single product line, CardioGenesis reliance on Boston Scientific
Corporation as the exclusive distributor outside of the U.S. for CardioGenesis
products and pricing, the effectiveness of the TMR and PTMR procedures,
potential third-party patent infringement claims and uncertainty regarding
production of proprietary technologies, as well as additional risk factors, as
discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of Eclipse's Annual Report on Form 10-K
dated December 31, 1997, and Eclipse's quarterly reports filed with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as well as CardioGenesis Annual Report
on Form 10-K dated December 31, 1997, and CardioGenesis quarterly reports filed
with the SEC.

CONTACT: Douglas Murphy-Chutorian, M.D., Chief Executive Officer, Kenneth
Bennert, Chief Financial Officer, or Tara Spangler, Investor Relations Manager,
408-747-0120, all of Eclipse Surgical Technologies, Inc.; or Allen W. Hill,
President and CEO, Richard Powers, Executive Vice President and CFO,
408-328-8500, both of CardioGenesis Corporation; or Ann Trunko, general
information, Kate Rajeck, analyst contact, 415-986-1591, both of The Financial
Relations Board for CardioGenesis Corporation