Patent ID: 7763062

Claim:
A method of implanting a graft in a body vessel, comprising the steps of: inserting a single-insertion graft delivery system within a body vessel to deliver said graft to a site adjacent a wall of such body vessel, said graft having an inside lumen, said single-insertion graft delivery system comprising a plurality of radially expandable longitudinally extending tensioners disposed interiorly within said inside lumen of said graft; a removable outer sheath disposed exteriorly of said graft to maintain said graft in a non-deployed condition until delivered to said site, and a nose cone on the distal end of said delivery system, wherein the distal end of said tensioners are affixed internally of said nose cone, and wherein the distal end of said outer sheath is releasably attached to said nose cone by friction; then temporarily holding said graft from within said graft against said wall of said body vessel solely via said tensioners; while holding said graft without expansion of the body vessel, attaching said graft to said wall of said body vessel from outside said graft by suturing said graft to said wall laparoscopically, wherein said suturing step includes placing at least one suture through the wall of said body vessel, through said graft into the interior thereof, at least a portion of the at least one suture being disposed around at least one of the longitudinally extending tensioners such that the at least one suture overlaps at least one of said tensioners; and slidably removing said at least one of said longitudinally extending tensioners from said at least one suture thereby loosening suture retention.