Implant holder

• US 6,350,285 B2
• Filed: 07/09/1999
• Issued: 02/26/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Caremed Medical Produkte AG
• Original Assignee: Caremed Medical Produkte AG
• Inventors: Rohrmann, Dorothea, Gerlach, Roland, Hannappel, Josef, Reuter, Juergen
• Primary Examiner(s): Snow, Bruce
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pellegrino, Brian E.
• Application Number:
  US09/350,285
• Publication Number:
  US 20010004714A1
• Time in Patent Office: 963 Days
• Field of Search: 623/23.64, 623/11.11, 623/23.5, 623/23.74, 623/23.76, 623/23.72, 600/37, 606/151
• US Class Current: 623/23.76
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/00 Filters implantable into blood vessels; Prostheses, i.e. artificial substitutes or replacements for parts of the body; Appliances for connecting them with the body; Devices providing patency to, or preventing collapsing of, tubular structures of the body, e.g. stents as cosmetic articles, see the relevant subclasses, e.g. wigs, hair pieces, A41G3/00, A41G5/00; artificial nails A45D31/00; dental prostheses A61C13/00; materials for prostheses A61L27/00; artificial hearts A61M60/00; artificial kidneys A61M1/14
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/0077 Special surfaces of prostheses, e.g. for improving ingrowth A61F2/30767 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/042 Urinary bladders
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2220/0008 Fixation appliances for connecting prostheses to the body

Abstract

The implant holder comprises a screen (21) comprising on one side a tissue-compatible fibre material (25) to which the body cells grow and on the other side a smooth contact surface (23) for the implant (10). A holding fixture (26) retains the implant (10) to the screen (21). The implant holder prevents the body tissue from directly growing to the implant, which would make exchange of the implant (10) more difficult. To exchange the implant the skin (16) of the patient is cut open and the holding fixture (26) is opened. The implant holder remains in the body while the implant (10) is exchanged.

Claims

1. A combination comprising a body implant and an implant holder for holding said body implant, said implant holder including two layers of material, one of said layers of material being tissue-compatible to which body cells grow, another of said layers of material having an implant contacting tissue-rejecting surface and another surface opposite thereto, said another surface being in opposing relationship to said one layer and being secured thereto, said body implant being located exteriorly of and against said implant contacting tissue-rejecting surface, said body implant including an outer surface which substantially precludes tissue from adhering thereto, means for holding said body implant against said implant contacting tissue-rejecting surface, and said holding means includes a strip of material which substantially precludes tissue from adhering thereto.

2. The combination as defined in claim 1 wherein said one and another layers are each substantially flat.