Methods of supporting a vein

• US 9,265,632 B2
• Filed: 05/25/2014
• Issued: 02/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/24/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Medical Research, Infrastructure And Health Services Fund Of The Tel Aviv Medical Center, Vascular Graft Solutions Ltd.
• Original Assignee: The Medical Research, Infrastructure And Health Services Fund Of The Tel Aviv Medical Center, Vascular Graft Solutions Ltd.
• Inventors: Orion, Eyal, Bachar, Yehuda, Ben-Gal, Yanai, Rapaport, Avraham, Cibulski, Gilad, Winshtein, Ronny
• Primary Examiner(s): Gherbi, Suzette J
• Application Number:
  US14/287,030
• Publication Number:
  US 20140257462A1
• Time in Patent Office: 639 Days
• Field of Search: 623 115- 148
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/11 for performing anastomosis; Buttons for anastomosis
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/12 for ligaturing or otherwise compressing tubular parts of the body, e.g. blood vessels, umbilical cord specially adapted for vas deferens or fallopian tubes A61F6/20; materials for ligaturing blood vessels A61L17/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/1107 for blood vessels
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/1135 End-to-side connections, e.g. T- or Y-connections
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/064 with special features to facilitate anastomotic coupling anastomosis of natural blood vessels A61B17/11
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/82 Devices providing patency to, or preventing collapsing of, tubular structures of the body, e.g. stents stent-grafts for tubular structures of the body other than blood vessels A61F2/04; stent-grafts for blood vessels A61F2/07; instruments specially adapted for placement or removal of stents or stent-grafts A61F2/95; for closing wounds, or holding wounds closed A61B17/04 - A61B17/115; dilators A61M29/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/90 characterised by a net-like or mesh-like structure

Abstract

Methods of supporting a vein, featuring deforming a vein support while being mounted on the vein. Such deformation may be sufficient to impose thereupon a plastic deformation that alters a length of the vein support, from a pre-deformation relaxed length to a post-deformation relaxed length different than the pre-deformation relaxed length. Following the plastic deformation, the vein support may maintain a new shape relative to a longitudinal axis thereof.

Claims

1. A method of supporting a vein, the method comprising:

mounting a vein support around the vein; and

plastically deforming said vein support relative to a longitudinal axis of said vein support, while said vein support is mounted on the vein, such that following said plastically deforming, said vein support substantially maintains a new shape relative to said axis;

wherein said plastically deforming said vein support includes plastically bending said vein support in a direction transversally to said axis.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said plastically deforming said vein support includes plastically stretching said vein support along said axis.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said plastically deforming is performed by manipulating said vein support sufficiently to impose a plastic deformation of said vein support that alters a length of said vein support from a pre-deformation relaxed length to a post-deformation relaxed length different than said pre-deformation relaxed length.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein length of said vein support is coupled to a cross-sectional diameter of said vein support so that said plastic deformation alters said diameter from a pre-deformation relaxed diameter to a post-deformation relaxed diameter different than said pre-deformation relaxed diameter, and wherein said post-deformation diameter is selected in response to a diameter of the vein.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said plastically deforming defines a layout of the vein independent of any attachment of said vein support to tissue other than the vein.

6. A method of supporting a vein, the method comprising:

mounting a vein support around the vein; and

deforming said vein support, while said vein support is mounted on the vein, sufficiently to impose thereupon a plastic deformation that alters a length of said vein support, from a pre-deformation relaxed length to a post-deformation relaxed length different than said pre-deformation relaxed length.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein length of said vein support is coupled to a cross-sectional diameter of said vein support so that said deforming alters said diameter from a pre-deformation relaxed diameter to a post-deformation relaxed diameter different than said pre-deformation relaxed diameter, and wherein said post-deformation diameter is selected in response to a diameter of the vein.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the vein has a first vein diameter at a first axial location of the vein and a second vein diameter at a second axial location of the vein, wherein said deforming is performed so that said vein support has a first vein support diameter adjacent said first axial location and a second vein support diameter corresponding to said second vein diameter adjacent said second axial location.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein said deforming said vein support includes any combination of:

plastically stretching said vein support along a longitudinal axis thereof, plastically bending said vein support in a direction transversally to said longitudinal axis, and plastically reversely compressing said vein support in a direction along said longitudinal axis.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein said deforming defines a layout of the vein independent of any attachment of said vein support to tissue other than the vein.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein said deforming is performed in-situ in an open surgery with or without a heart-lung machine.

12. The method of claim 6, comprising choosing a configuration of said vein support from a variety of vein support configurations, each of said configurations having a different range of inner diameters between said pre-deformation relaxed length and said post-deformation relaxed length.

13. The method of claim 6, wherein said deforming is preceded by allowing blood to flow in the vein to thereby increase vein diameter.

14. The method of claim 6, wherein said deforming includes manually manipulating said vein support.

15. A method of supporting a vein, the method comprising:

mounting a vein support around the vein;

plastically deforming said vein support relative to a longitudinal axis of said vein support, while said vein support is mounted on the vein, such that following said plastically deforming, said vein support substantially maintains a new shape relative to said axis; and

plastically deforming diameter of said vein support at a plurality of points along a length of said vein support.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein said plastically deforming said vein support includes plastically stretching said vein support along said axis.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein said plastically deforming is performed by manipulating said vein support sufficiently to impose a plastic deformation of said vein support that alters a length of said vein support from a pre-deformation relaxed length to a post-deformation relaxed length different than said pre-deformation relaxed length.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein length of said vein support is coupled to a cross-sectional diameter of said vein support so that said plastic deformation alters said diameter from a pre-deformation relaxed diameter to a post-deformation relaxed diameter different than said pre-deformation relaxed diameter, and wherein said post-deformation diameter is selected in response to a diameter of the vein.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein said plastically deforming defines a layout of the vein independent of any attachment of said vein support to tissue other than the vein.

20. A method of supporting a vein, the method comprising:

mounting a vein support around the vein; and

plastically deforming said vein support relative to a longitudinal axis of said vein support, while said vein support is mounted on the vein, such that following said plastically deforming, said vein support substantially maintains a new shape relative to said axis;

wherein said plastically deforming comprises deforming said vein support along said axis whereby springback of said vein support relative to said axis decreases.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein said plastically deforming said vein support includes plastically stretching said vein support along said axis.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein said springback decreases to a value in a range of 0.5% to 5%.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein said plastically deforming is performed by manipulating said vein support sufficiently to impose a plastic deformation of said vein support that alters a length of said vein support from a pre-deformation relaxed length to a post-deformation relaxed length different than said pre-deformation relaxed length.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein length of said vein support is coupled to a cross-sectional diameter of said vein support so that said plastic deformation alters said diameter from a pre-deformation relaxed diameter to a post-deformation relaxed diameter different than said pre-deformation relaxed diameter, and wherein said post-deformation diameter is selected in response to a diameter of the vein.

25. The method of claim 20, wherein said plastically deforming defines a layout of the vein independent of any attachment of said vein support to tissue other than the vein.

26. A method of supporting a vein, the method comprising:

mounting a vein support around the vein; and

plastically deforming said vein support relative to a longitudinal axis of said vein support, while said vein support is mounted on the vein, such that following said plastically deforming, said vein support substantially maintains a new shape relative to said axis;

wherein said plastically deforming is performed by manipulating said vein support sufficiently to impose a plastic deformation of said vein support that alters a length of said vein support from a pre-deformation relaxed length to a post-deformation relaxed length different than said pre-deformation relaxed length; and

wherein the vein has a first vein diameter at a first axial location of the vein and a second vein diameter at a second axial location of the vein, wherein said manipulating is performed so that said vein support has a first vein support diameter adjacent said first axial location and a second vein support diameter corresponding to said second vein diameter adjacent said second axial location.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein said plastically deforming said vein support includes plastically stretching said vein support along said axis.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein said plastically deforming defines a layout of the vein independent of any attachment of said vein support to tissue other than the vein.

29. A method of supporting a vein, the method comprising:

mounting a vein support around the vein;

plastically deforming said vein support relative to a longitudinal axis of said vein support, while said vein support is mounted on the vein, such that following said plastically deforming, said vein support substantially maintains a new shape relative to said axis; and

connecting a first end of the vein to a first point in a vascular system of a patient with a first anastomosis so as to incorporate the vein into said vascular system.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein said plastically deforming said vein support includes plastically stretching said vein support along said axis.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein said plastically deforming defines a layout of the vein independent of any attachment of said vein support to tissue other than the vein.

32. The method of claim 29, wherein said plastically deforming said vein support is performed after said connecting said first end of the vein to said vascular system.

33. The method of claim 32, additionally comprising connecting a second end of the vein to a second point in said vascular system with a second anastomosis.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein said plastically deforming said vein support is performed after said connecting said second end of the vein to said vascular system.

35. A method of supporting a vein, the method comprising:

mounting a vein support around the vein;

plastically deforming said vein support relative to a longitudinal axis of said vein support, while said vein support is mounted on the vein, such that following said plastically deforming, said vein support substantially maintains a new shape relative to said axis;

attaching the vein to at least two separate points in a vascular system of a patient;

allowing blood to flow in and expand the vein; and

shaping said vein support mounted on the vein during said blood flow.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein said plastically deforming said vein support includes plastically stretching said vein support along said axis.

37. The method of claim 35, wherein said plastically deforming said vein support includes plastically bending said vein support in a direction transversally to said axis.

38. The method of claim 35, comprising plastically deforming diameter of said vein support at a plurality of points along a length of said vein support.

39. The method of claim 35, wherein said plastically deforming comprises deforming said vein support along said axis whereby springback of said vein support relative to said axis decreases.

40. The method of claim 35, wherein said plastically deforming is performed by manipulating said vein support sufficiently to impose a plastic deformation of said vein support that alters a length of said vein support from a pre-deformation relaxed length to a post-deformation relaxed length different than said pre-deformation relaxed length.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the vein has a first vein diameter at a first axial location of the vein and a second vein diameter at a second axial location of the vein, wherein said manipulating is performed so that said vein support has a first vein support diameter adjacent said first axial location and a second vein support diameter corresponding to said second vein diameter adjacent said second axial location.

42. The method of claim 35, wherein said plastically deforming defines a layout of the vein independent of any attachment of said vein support to tissue other than the vein.