Patent ID: 8323305

Claim:
A method for sealing a puncture site in a blood vessel wall at the end of a tissue tract, said method comprising: providing an expansible device having a tubular member, a first expansible member disposed on a distal end of the tubular member, a first deformable membrane at least partially disposed over the first expansible member, and a second expansible member disposed proximal to the first expansible member and on the distal end of the tubular member; inserting the expansible device through the tissue tract so that the first expansible member goes past the puncture site and into a lumen of the blood vessel; causing a straight wire within the first expansible member to assume a helical configuration such that the wire expands the first expansible member to an expanded configuration comprising a spherical shape, wherein the expanded first expansible member provides a supporting framework to keep the membrane taut and occlude the opening in the blood vessel wall when positioned over said opening; deploying the second expansible member to an expanded configuration comprising an elongate cylinder, wherein the cylinder has a length sufficient to extend from the penetration through the tissue tract, wherein deploying the second expansible membrane comprises inflating the second expansible member with a predetermined volume of air.