Patent ID: 7815661

Claim:
A method of treating a blood vessel, said method comprising: delivering into said blood vessel an implant through a percutaneous access site, said implant comprising a plurality of loose tortuous fibers, said fibers being formed from one or more bioabsorbable materials, said fibers extending longitudinally along said implant and forming an outermost, vessel-wall-engaging surface of said implant, said implant further comprising a bioabsorbable tether coupled to said fibers at a junction point in a distal portion of said implant, said tether extending longitudinally along said implant, said tether having a larger cross-section than any one of said individual fibers; positioning said implant in said vessel with a pushrod so that said fibers and said tether extend along said blood vessel from the junction point of said fibers and said tether in said distal portion of said implant, to said access site, and said tether further extends through a wall of said blood vessel at said access site and into tissue external to said blood vessel at said access site, thereby securing said implant in position in said blood vessel; wherein said pushrod during positioning engages the distal portion of said implant and extends past the proximal portion and out of the access site.