Patent ID: 7201762

Claim:
A method of embolizing a vascular sit comprising the steps of: (a) providing a vascular implant comprising a hydrophilic hydrogel and having an initial compressed configuration, wherein the implant is releasably attached, in its initial configuration, to the distal end of a flexible, elongate deployment element that includes a coiled element; (b) providing a microcatheter having a distal end, and passing the microcatheter intravascularly until its distal end is situated closely adjacent to or within the vascular site; (c) passing the implant and the deployment element through the microcatheter until the implant emerges from the distal end of the microcatheter; (d) controllably releasing the implant from the deployment element; and (e) expanding the implant in situ in the vascular site from its initial configuration to an expanded configuration that substantially fills the vascular site, primarily by hydrophilic hydration.