Compliant venous graft

• US 8,057,537 B2
• Filed: 04/28/2004
• Issued: 11/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vascular Graft Solutions Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Kips Bay Medical, Inc.
• Inventors: Bezuidenhout, Deon, Yeoman, Mark, Franz, Thomas, Zilla, Peter P., Douk, Nareak, Rafiee, Nasser, Bowles, Hellmut, Wolf, Michael F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sweet; Thomas J
• Assistant Examiner(s): Straszheim; Rebecca
• Application Number:
  US10/834,360
• Publication Number:
  US 20050070995A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,757 Days
• Field of Search: 600/36, 623/1.13, 623/1.5
• US Class Current: 623/1.5
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/06 Blood vessels
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/90 characterised by a net-like or mesh-like structure
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 27/14 Macromolecular materials
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 27/3625 Vascular tissue, e.g. heart valves

Abstract

A venous graft for replacement of a section of an artery and methods of making the graft. The graft comprises a flexible, resilient, generally tubular external support and a vein segment carried within and having an ablumenal surface in contact with and supported by the tubular support, the venous graft being capable of resilient radial expansion in a manner mimicking the radial compliance properties of an artery.

Claims

1. A flexible, resilient, generally tubular external support within which may be supported a vein segment to form a replacement venous graft mimicking the compliance properties of a healthy artery, the tubular support comprising a knit wire mesh and being capable of resilient radial expansion in a manner providing compliance in the range of 3 to 30%/100 mm Hg.

2. The tubular external support of claim 1 wherein the vein segment includes an abluminal surface in contact with, and supported by, said knit wire mesh.

3. The tubular external support of claim 1 in which said knit wire mesh comprises loops that alternate in size circumferentially about the support.