Implantation system for annuloplasty rings
First Claim
1. A method of reconfiguring an atrioventricular heart valve without replacing the natural valve leaflets, which method comprisesproviding an annuloplasty ring sized and shaped to have a desired configuration and formed with a plurality of openings along its length, andimplanting said ring upon the tissue surface at the mitral or tricuspid valve of a patient by implanting a plurality of staples in the patient'"'"'s heart tissue so as to spatially position said annuloplasty ring in a reconfiguration association along a portion of the native valve annulus, in association with one or more of the natural valve leaflets, with one leg of each said staple being disposed in only a portion of one of said plurality of said openings, while providing the tissue, in which said staples are implanted, with the ability to shift with respect to said ring and conform the annulus to said ring so the shape of the valve will steadily improve to an optimum configuration where its natural leaflets achieve better coaptation.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods for reconfiguring an atrioventricular heart valve that may use systems comprising a partial or complete annuloplasty rings proportioned to reconfigure a heart valve that has become in some way incompetent, a pair of trigonal sutures or implantable anchors, and a plurality of staples which may have pairs of legs that are sized and shaped for association with the ring at spaced locations along its length. These systems permit relative axial movement between the staples and the ring, whereby a patient'"'"'s heart valve can be reconfigured in a manner that does not deter subtle shifting of the native valve components. Shape-memory alloy material staples may have legs with free ends that interlock following implantation. Annuloplasty rings may be complete or partial and may be fenestrated. One alternative method routes a flexible wire, preferably of shape-memory material, through the bights of pre-implanted staples. Other alternative systems use linkers of shape-memory material having hooked ends to interengage with staples or other implanted supports which, following implantation, decrease in effective length and pull the staples or other supports toward one another so as to create desired curvature of the reconfigured valve. These linkers may be separate from the supports or may be integral with them and may have a variety of shapes and forms. Various of these systems may be implanted non-invasively using a delivery catheter.
1335 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method of reconfiguring an atrioventricular heart valve without replacing the natural valve leaflets, which method comprises
providing an annuloplasty ring sized and shaped to have a desired configuration and formed with a plurality of openings along its length, and implanting said ring upon the tissue surface at the mitral or tricuspid valve of a patient by implanting a plurality of staples in the patient'"'"'s heart tissue so as to spatially position said annuloplasty ring in a reconfiguration association along a portion of the native valve annulus, in association with one or more of the natural valve leaflets, with one leg of each said staple being disposed in only a portion of one of said plurality of said openings, while providing the tissue, in which said staples are implanted, with the ability to shift with respect to said ring and conform the annulus to said ring so the shape of the valve will steadily improve to an optimum configuration where its natural leaflets achieve better coaptation.
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10. A method of reconfiguring an atrioventricular heart valve without replacing the natural valve leaflets, which method comprises
providing an annuloplasty ring of a size and shape to at least partially encircle a mitral or tricuspid valve, which ring has a plurality of apertures spaced along its length, and implanting said ring at the mitral or tricuspid valve of a patient generally along the native annulus in association with one or more of the natural valve leaflets by implanting a plurality of staples having pairs of legs in the patient'"'"'s heart tissue with one leg of each said staple protruding through one of said apertures so as to spatially position said annuloplasty ring in a reconfiguration association therewith, while providing the tissue, in which said staples are implanted, with the ability to conform the patient'"'"'s annulus as desired but also to shift axially with respect to said ring because each said staple leg fills only a portion of the area of said respective aperture so the shape of the valve will steadily improve to an optimum configuration where its natural leaflets achieve better coaptation.
Specification