Patent ID: 8771341

Claim:
A method of treating a wide-necked aneurysm at a bifurcation of a parent artery into a first and second branch artery, said wide-necked aneurysm characterized by a neck opening into the bifurcation, said method comprising: providing a bridging device in a first catheter and delivering said bridging device to the neck of the aneurysm; said bridging device comprising a wire frame structure characterized by a distal region, a proximal region, and a bridging region disposed between the distal region and the proximal region, said bridging device being self-expandable from a small diameter configuration and a large diameter configuration; placing a distal segment of a first catheter across the neck of the aneurysm; deploying the distal region of the bridging device from the distal segment of the first catheter while maintaining the bridging device in secure connection to a delivery wire, such that the distal regions expands to engage the wall of the first branch artery thereby fixing the distal region within the first branch artery; adjusting the position of the bridging device, so that a proximal edge of the distal region of substantially cylindrical cross-section is aligned with the junction of the aneurysm neck and the first branch artery; and thereafter deploying a bridging portion of the bridging device from the distal segment of the catheter so that the bridging portion is disposed adjacent the aneurysm neck, spanning the aneurysm neck; pushing the proximal region of the bridging device to longitudinally compress the bridging region and force the bridging region to assume a radially expanded configuration proximate the aneurysm neck; removing the proximal region of substantially cylindrical cross-section from the distal segment of the catheter so that the proximal region is disposed within the parent artery; delivering an occlusive device or substance from a second catheter into the aneurysm sac; and releasing the bridging device from the first catheter.