Patent ID: 11877785
Assignee: AVENU MEDICAL, INC.
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 0:
1. A method of creating an arteriovenous (AV) fistula, comprising:
selecting an appropriate procedural site having each of a primary blood vessel and a secondary blood vessel in close proximity to one another;
piercing walls of the primary blood vessel and the secondary blood vessel with a piercing device to create an opening in the walls so that the piercing device extends into the secondary vessel;
advancing a guidewire until the guidewire is positioned in a blood flow path of the secondary blood vessel sufficiently to allow the piercing device to be removed;
withdrawing the piercing device;
loading a proximal end of the guidewire into a dilation assembly including a dilator and a sheath disposed around the dilator, and advancing the dilation assembly across both vessels;
withdrawing the dilator and leaving the sheath in place;
after withdrawing the dilator, loading a proximal lumen of the sheath with a distal tip of an anastomotic device such that the sheath and dilator are free of the anastomotic device when the sheath and dilator are loaded on the proximal end of the guidewire;
advancing the anastomotic device into the sheath until the distal tip of the anastomotic device comes into alignment with the procedural site;
withdrawing the sheath from the procedural site so that the walls of the primary blood vessel and secondary blood vessel come in direct contact with the anastomotic device;
creating an AV fistula with the anastomotic device; and
withdrawing the anastomotic device from the procedural site.