Patent ID: 8187299

Claim:
A method of repairing a valve in a patient's body, the valve having a plurality of movable leaflets, the leaflets having a superior surface on a first side and an inferior surface on an opposing side, the method comprising: positioning an interventional catheter having a coapting device near a distal end of the interventional catheter near the valve; piercing through the valve leaflets with a needle containing the coapting device; allowing the coapting device to self-expand from an unexpanded state to an expanded state; coapting the leaflets so that at least a portion of the superior surface of one leaflet is coapted with at least a portion of the superior surface of a second leaflet; and detaching the coapting device from the interventional catheter, the coapting device remaining coupled to the valve leaflets after the interventional catheter has been removed from the patient's body.