Apparatus and method for engrafting a blood vessel
First Claim
1. An apparatus for engrafting a blood vessel comprising:
- a tubular graft of bio-compatible graft material for conducting fluid, said graft being capable of substantially deforming so as to conform to an interior surface of said blood vessel, said graft having proximal and distal opposite ends;
radially compressible spring means for biasing said proximal and distal ends thereof radially outward into conforming fixed engagement with said interior surface of said blood vessel;
said graft material being attached to said spring means and enclosing said spring means to prevent contact between said spring means and said interior surface of said vessel.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method for engrafting a blood vessel are disclosed. The apparatus includes a tubular graft having radially compressible annular spring portions for biasing proximal and distal ends of the graft into conforming fixed engagement with an interior surface of the vessel, with bifurcated and adjustable length embodiments being disclosed. Apparatus for deploying the graft includes an insertion catheter having a nitinol core wire, a controllable tip balloon at a remote end thereof for dilation and occlusion of the vessel, and a controllable graft balloon in the vicinity of the tip balloon for fixedly seating the spring portions into conformance with the interior surface of the vessel. A spool apparatus for adjusting or removing an improperly placed graft, and a micro-emboli filter tube, are usable with the deployment apparatus. A method of percutaneously implanting a graft, including a single-entry method for percutaneously implanting a bifurcated graft, are also disclosed.
708 Citations
28 Claims
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1. An apparatus for engrafting a blood vessel comprising:
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a tubular graft of bio-compatible graft material for conducting fluid, said graft being capable of substantially deforming so as to conform to an interior surface of said blood vessel, said graft having proximal and distal opposite ends; radially compressible spring means for biasing said proximal and distal ends thereof radially outward into conforming fixed engagement with said interior surface of said blood vessel; said graft material being attached to said spring means and enclosing said spring means to prevent contact between said spring means and said interior surface of said vessel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An apparatus for engrafting a bifurcated blood vessel comprising:
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a tubular graft of bio-compatible graft material for conducting fluid, said graft being capable of substantially deforming so as to conform to an interior surface of said blood vessel, said graft including a primary limb having proximal and distal opposite ends, an ipsilateral limb having proximal and distal opposite ends, and a contralateral limb having proximal and distal opposite ends, said proximal ends of said ipsilateral and contralateral limbs joining with said distal end of said primary limb for flow communication therewith to form a bifurcated fluid conduit; radially compressible spring means for biasing said proximal and distal ends of said primary, ipsilateral, and contralateral limbs radially outward into conforming fixed engagement with said interior surface of said blood vessel; said graft material being attached to said spring means and enclosing said spring means to prevent contact between said spring means and said interior surface of said blood vessel. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. An apparatus for engrafting a blood vessel comprising:
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a tubular graft of bio-compatible graft material for conducting fluid, said graft being capable of substantially deforming so as to conform to an interior surface of said blood vessel, said graft including a mating portion having proximal and distal opposite ends and an adjustable length portion having proximal and distal opposite ends, said proximal end of said adjustable length portion being arranged adjacent to said distal end of said mating portion such that said mating and adjustable length portions extend along a common central axis; and radially compressible spring means for biasing said proximal end of said mating portion radially outward into conforming fixed engagement with an interior surface of another graft to which said apparatus is mated, and for biasing said distal end of said mating portion, said proximal end of said adjustable length portion, and said distal end of said adjustable length portion radially outward into conforming fixed engagement with said interior surface of said blood vessel, said spring means comprising a first annular spring portion associated with said proximal end of said mating portion, a second annular spring portion associated with said distal end of said mating portion and said proximal end of said adjustable length portion, said second spring portion being connected to said first spring portion by at least one connecting bar, and a third annular spring portion associated with said distal end of said adjustable length portion; said graft material being attached to said spring means and enclosing said spring means to prevent contact between said spring means and said interior surface of said blood vessel, and said graft material being crimped along a length of said adjustable length portion, such that said third spring portion is axially movable relative to said second spring portion to adjust the length of said graft. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28)
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Specification