Patent ID: 7846171

Claim:
An introducer for delivering a prosthetic fabric into a patient, the introducer comprising: a delivery tube having a distal end adapted to be inserted into the patient and a lumen extending therethrough that is adapted to receive the prosthetic fabric; a dual-purpose component extending from a first terminal end to a second terminal end and including a first portion that is configured to hold and to releasably load the prosthetic fabric into the delivery tube and a second portion that substantially conforms to the lumen, the second portion having a substantially blunt end surface at the second terminal end, the second terminal end having a cross-section that conforms to a cross-section of the lumen and being configured to engage and to push the prosthetic fabric through the lumen, the first terminal end having a cross-section that is smaller in size than the cross-section of the second terminal end, the first portion and the second portion having different configurations, the dual-purpose component being reversibly insertable into the lumen in a first orientation to hold and to releasably load the prosthetic fabric into the delivery tube with the first portion and a second orientation to push the prosthetic fabric through the delivery tube with the second terminal end; and a stop constructed and arranged to limit movement of the dual-purpose component through the lumen, the stop being disposed on the first portion to contact the delivery tube when the dual-purpose component is inserted a predetermined distance through the lumen in the second configuration to prevent the second portion from traveling beyond a predetermined position relative to the distal end.