Patent ID: 7578829

Claim:
An assembly comprising: a tubular graft conduit; and a connector for use in making an artificial, fluid-tight connection between an end portion of the tubular graft conduit and a side wall of a tubular body conduit in a patient via an artificially formed aperture in the side wall of the tubular body conduit so that the tubular graft conduit extends from the tubular body conduit outside of the tubular body conduit and the patient's body fluid can flow between lumens of the tubular graft conduit and the tubular body conduit via the connection, the connector comprising: a structure that forms a continuous ring that is annularly enlargeable and disposed substantially concentrically with the tubular graft conduit, the structure including: (a) a plurality of cantilevered, longitudinal, tissue-piercing members disposed in an annular array that is substantially concentric with the ring, a cantilevered length of each of the tissue-piercing members being sufficient to pass all the way through the side wall of the tubular graft conduit, each tissue-piercing member passing through the side wall of the tubular graft conduit from inside the lumen of the tubular graft conduit to a free end of the tissue-piercing member that is extraluminal of the tubular graft conduit, the tissue-piercing members having strength sufficient to secure the tubular graft conduit to the connector; and (b) a plurality of hook members disposed in an annular array that is substantially concentric with the ring and that is at least partly outside the tubular graft conduit beyond the lumen of the end portion of the tubular graft conduit, portions of the hook members that are outside the tubular graft conduit beyond the lumen of the end portion of the tubular graft conduit being resiliently biased to extend, in use, radially outwardly relative to the artificially formed aperture and inside the tubular body conduit without passing through the side wall of the tubular graft conduit, the hook members having length sufficient when thus extended radially outwardly to engage the inside of the side wall of the tubular body conduit at locations annularly around the artificially formed aperture, and the hook members having strength sufficient when thus engaged with the inside of the side wall of the tubular body conduit to at least help retain the tubular graft conduit in fluid-tight, artificial connection with the tubular body conduit, the radially outwardly extending length of each of the hook members when extended radially outward being greater than the cantilevered length of each of the tissue-piercing members.