Patent ID: 7736377

Claim:
A fixator for retaining a graft on an artery comprising: a. a plurality of first parts for contacting the graft when the device is pierced radially through the graft and the artery wall, b. at least one second part for contacting the artery when the device is pierced radially through the graft and the artery wall, and c. a resilient member connecting the first and second parts, wherein the first and second parts each terminate in tips opposite the resilient member, with at least one of the tips being sharpened to enable the tip to pierce a graft and an artery, and wherein: (1) the resilient member biases the first and second parts towards each other into a retaining configuration such that in use the artery and the graft are retained together between the first and second parts of the device, and (2) the first and second parts are moveable into an open configuration in which they are: (a) at least substantially disposed along a common axis with the resilient member, and (b) further apart than in the retaining configuration to enable the device to be conveyed along an artery, and (3) only the first and second parts extend from the resilient member, such that all structures extending from the resilient member move between the retaining and open configurations, and wherein the resilient member has a cross-sectional area at least substantially equal to the greater of: the sums of the cross-sectional areas non-sharpened portions of the first parts when the first parts are in their open configuration, and ii. the sums of the cross-sectional areas non-sharpened portions of the second parts when the second parts are in their open configuration.