Patent ID: 8016813

Claim:
A method of anchoring a medical device to skin of a patient, the method comprising: inserting at least a portion of an elongate body through a dermis layer so that a subcutaneous anchor mechanism flexibly adjusts from an outwardly extending orientation to a first bent orientation in which free ends of the subcutaneous anchor mechanism extend toward a proximal end of the elongate body, wherein the elongate body comprises a body wall that at least partially defines a lumen to slideably receive a catheter and the subcutaneous anchor mechanism is coupled to the elongate body at a location proximal from a distal tip of the elongate body; and removing the elongate body from the dermis layer so that the subcutaneous anchor mechanism flexibly adjusts from a deployed orientation in a subcutaneous layer beneath the dermis layer to a second bent orientation in which the free ends of the subcutaneous anchor mechanism non-retractably extend toward the distal tip of the elongate body when the anchor mechanism exits through the dermis layer, wherein removing the elongate body so that the subcutaneous anchor mechanism flexibly adjusts comprises receiving at least one of the free ends of the anchor mechanism in at least one reduced-diameter portion formed in the body wall that extends distally of said at least one of the free ends to accommodate said at least one of the free ends when said at least one of the free ends is flexed distally toward the body wall of the elongate body.