Patent ID: 9301841
Filing Date: 2016-04-05
CPC Classification: A61B,A61F,Y10T

Claim Text:
1. A method of inserting a prosthetic device into a blood vessel of a patient, the method comprising: inserting a sheath at least partially into the blood vessel of the patient, the sheath comprising an inner layer defining a lumen therethrough and at least one longitudinal pleat, the sheath further comprising an outer layer having a circumferentially discontinuous portion extending at least partially along the length of the outer layer to facilitate radial expansion of the sheath, the circumferentially discontinuous portion having a first longitudinal edge portion and a second longitudinal edge portion; and advancing a prosthetic device through the lumen of the sheath so as to cause the sheath to locally expand from the non-expanded configuration to the expanded configuration from the outwardly directed radially force of the prosthetic device exerted against the inner layer, and then locally contract at least partially back to the non-expanded configuration as the prosthetic device passes through the lumen.