Patent ID: 8202311

Claim:
A method for open surgical repair of a damaged portion of a body vessel of a patient that has been subjected to a traumatic episode, comprising: surgically opening an open air pathway from an outer layer of skin to said damaged vessel portion; positioning a stent/graft device at said surgical opening for insertion through said open air pathway, said stent/graft device having a length at least as long as a length of said damaged vessel portion undergoing repair, said stent/graft device comprising an elongated generally cylindrical stent and a graft material covering at least a portion of said stent, said device being expandable from a compressed condition having a diameter less than a diameter of the vessel to an expanded condition having a diameter at least as large as the diameter of the vessel, said stent/graft device being loaded into a sheath capable of maintaining said stent/graft device in said compressed condition; inserting said sheath having said stent/graft device loaded therein in said compressed condition into said damaged vessel portion through said open air pathway, such that said device at least spans said damaged vessel portion length; and removing said sheath from said stent/graft device at said site such that said stent/graft device expands to said expanded condition and engages said vessel, in a manner such that migration of said stent/graft device in said vessel is inhibited.