Patent ID: 8734505

Claim:
A method of repairing a valve in a patient's body, the valve having a plurality of movable leaflets, the leaflets having a superior surface on a first side and an inferior surface on an opposing side, the method comprising: positioning a coapting device near the valve, the coapting device having a pair of movable arms, engaging the inferior surfaces of the leaflets with the arms; manipulating the arms to hold the leaflets in a coapted position in which at least portions of the superior surfaces face each other; and implanting the coapting device in the patient's heart to maintain the leaflets in the coapted position, wherein the superior surfaces of the leaflets are each engaged by superior elements movably coupled to the coapting device, wherein the superior elements are removed from the leaflets when the coapting device is implanted in the patient's heart, wherein the coapting device is releasably coupled to a flexible shaft adapted for positioning through a blood vessel, and wherein the coapting device is implanted by releasing the coapting device from the flexible shaft.