Patent ID: 8478431

Claim:
A method of retaining a medical implant to body tissue, the method comprising the steps of: receiving a medical implant comprising: a generally cylindrical implant body having a plurality of longitudinal channels formed along an exterior surface of the body; an outer jacket mounted about the implant body; and a fixation device having an array of elongate tines slidably disposed in the respective channels and being joined together at a their proximal ends, each of the tines having a self-expanding distal end portion constrained and substantially straightened against the implant body by the outer jacket; positioning the medical implant at an implantation site; and distally advancing the fixation device such that the tines slide between the implant body and the jacket to release at least the distal end portions of the tines from the outer jacket, wherein the distal end portions of the tines released from the outer jacket splay outwardly from the implant body and radially curve backward to engage with body tissue to retain the medical implant at the implantation site.