Patent ID: 8439944

Claim:
A method for hemostasis of a puncture site in a blood vessel having an inner wall at an end of a tissue tract, the method comprising: providing a catheter having a proximal end, a distal end, an expansible member at the distal end thereof, and a tensioning member comprising a tubular member and a coil spring attached to proximal end of the expansible member; inserting the catheter through the tissue tract so that the expansible member is positioned within the blood vessel; radially expanding the expansible member in the blood vessel; pulling the catheter proximally to draw the radially expanded expansible member against the inner wall of the blood vessel; and deploying the coil spring of the tensioning member within the tissue tract after the expansible member has been drawn against the inner wall of the blood vessel to hold the expansible member against the puncture site; and pulling the tubular member of the tensioning member proximally and releasing the tubular member to increase the tension applied by the expansible member on the vessel wall.