Patent ID: 6302891
Filing Date: 2001-10-16
Classification: A61F

Abstract:
A system for repairing an anatomical duct of a patient in which a fluid circulates, said system comprising:an implant having a generally tubular body adapted for channeling the fluid along a major axis of the implant, the implant having a first configuration for being implanted in the duct and a second Configuration once implanted in the duct, the implant having an overall radial dimension with respect to the axis which is smaller when the implant is in the first configuration than when the implant is in the second configuration and the generally tubular body having a length along the axis; anda device for installing the implant in the duct, the device for installing comprising:at least one retaining tie having a rigidity and configured to maintain the body of the implant substantially in the first configuration, the at least one retaining Lie forming a succession of loops passing at least partially around the body and extending at least over a major portion of its length to form a chain, said at least one retaining tie terminating towards a distal end of the implant in a distal knot or loop, anda flexible, elongated element for restraining, then releasing, the at least one retaining tie, the flexible, elongated element having a rectilinear cross section and sufficient rigidity so that a free distal end of the flexible, elongated element holds the distal knot or loop and the retaining tie in a predetermined position, the flexible, elongated element extending outside the body of the implant and at least over said major portion of its length, the flexible, elongated element being long enough to extend from outside the body of a patient to the distal end of the implant, the free distal end of the flexible, elongated element there locking the distal knot or loop to keep the implant in its first configuration until the flexible, elongated element is removed, whereupon the distal knot is released and thus the implant is able to assume its second configuration, wherein said at least one retaining tie loops substantially in a hairpin shape around the elongated element, passing periodically on one side thereof and then on the other while being disposed at least over the major portion of the length of the generally tubular body until said at least one retaining tie terminates in the releasable knot or loop substantially at the distal end of the elongated element, and wherein the rigidity of the elongated element is sufficiently greater than the rigidity of said at least one retaining tie that, when the implant is in the first configuration with the smaller overall radial dimension, the elongated element resists kinking, coiling, or other deformation which otherwise would result from shear stresses caused by the alternating passage of the at least one retaining tie around the elongated element.