Patent ID: 9561127
Date: 2017-02-07
CPC Classifications: A61B,A61F

Claim:
1. A method of treating a patient, comprising the steps of: providing a gastrointestinal sleeve, having a proximal end, a distal end, and a lumen extending therethrough; providing a tubular cuff having a proximal end and a distal end, the distal end of the cuff configured to be attachable to the proximal end of the sleeve; transesophageally advancing the cuff to position the proximal end of the cuff adjacent an attachment site of a luminal wall in the lower esophagus; advancing the distal end of the sleeve through the stomach and into the intestine; and attaching the tubular cuff at the attachment site without creating a serosal to serosal bond, such that the sleeve is configured to deliver food from the esophagus directly into the intestine; wherein the attaching the tubular cuff step comprises anchoring at least one tissue anchor having a proximal end and a distal end, said anchoring comprising changing the distal end of the tissue anchor from a transversely reduced configuration used while passing through the muscularis layer of the attachment site to a transversely enlarged configuration used after passing through the attachment site, wherein the distal end of the tissue anchor includes a proximally facing surface which rests against a distally facing surface to retain the sleeve cuff, and wherein the enlarged configuration of the tissue anchor is transversely larger than any transverse portion of the tissue anchor when the tissue anchor is passing through the attachment site.