Patent ID: 7682332

Claim:
A method for creating an anastomosis which comprises a channel through a chest wall joined to an opening in a visceral membrane of a lung using a medical device having a compression structure, the method comprising: (a) creating the channel through the chest wall into a pleural space surrounding the lung; (b) forming an adhesion between the chest wall and a visceral membrane of the lung to seal the channel from the pleural space; (c) creating an opening in the visceral membrane of the lung which communicates with the channel; and (d) inserting the medical device through the channel and opening such that a first portion of the compression structure is outside the chest wall, a second portion of the compression structure is inside the lung, and a third portion of the compression structure is within the channel; and (e) configuring the compression structure so that the compression structure maintains a compressive force upon tissue surrounding the channel.