Prosthesis (i.e. – artificial body members) – parts thereof – or ai – Arterial prosthesis – Stent structure
Patent
1997-06-12
1998-09-01
Prebilic, Paul B.
Prosthesis (i.e., artificial body members), parts thereof, or ai
Arterial prosthesis
Stent structure
623 12, 606153, 606198, A61F 206
Patent
active
058005242
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This application is a national stage application pursuant to 35 U.S.C. .sctn.371 of PCT/IT95/00218 filed Dec. 13, 1995.
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a prosthesis for blood vessels.
At present, prostheses of this particular type consist in a portion of tube fashioned from a biocompatible material and implanted in the body of a patient diagnosed as suffering from an aneurysm.
Aneurysm is the name given in the field of medicine to localized swellings that occur in the walls of blood vessels; such swellings are encountered particularly in the aorta, along the part between the lung wall and the femoral region. If aneurysm is not diagnosed early, the walls of the blood vessel affected by the swelling may rupture hazardously, and possibly cause bleeding from the vessel.
BACKGROUND ART
Such ruptures are prevented by a surgical operation of which the initial step consists in making a longitudinal incision along the middle of the sac produced by the swelling of the aorta wall and removing the blood clot that will have formed within the passage; thereafter, further incisions are made circumferentially (extending in length some two thirds of the circumference presented by the aorta) to coincide with the points where the sac meets healthy tissue on either side.
The incisions serve in this manner to create two flaps resembling a pair of doors, affording access to the inside of the aorta, through which the surgeon proceeds to insert the aforementioned prosthesis of biocompatible material in such a way that its two ends are disposed in contact with respective cylindrical terminating portions of the aorta on either side of the open section; with the prosthesis in place, the ends are secured internally of the respective cylindrical portions by sutures. Finally, the two flaps are flattened against the already anchored prosthesis and sutured so that the wall of the aorta remains permanently associated with the prosthesis.
This type of surgery is lengthy and laborious (typically requiring two to three hours at least), and has a markedly low rate of success (no more than 25% according to published research data). The length of the operation dictates that circulation must be diverted outside the body, a necessity that brings its own well-documented consequences, whilst the low success rate is also due to the fact that the sutures are performed manually by the surgeon utilizing traditional means (needle and biocompatible thread) which can neither guarantee a faultless mechanical closure, nor ensure that the flow of blood through the joined portions of the prosthesis and the aorta will be fully contained over time, since the closure consists in no more than discrete points of contact where the biocompatible suture simply "pinches" the wall of the vessel against the prosthesis.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to set forth a prosthesis for blood vessels structured in such a way as to enable a simple and swiftly accomplished implant, guaranteed efficient both from the mechanical standpoint and from that of its ability to contain the flow of blood, for which the overall operating time is notably shorter than that mentioned above.
The invention will now be described in detail, by way of example, with the aid of the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is an exploded illustration of the prosthesis for a blood vessel according to the present invention, viewed in perspective;
FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate two steps in a procedure by which the prosthesis of FIG. 1 is inserted and implanted in a blood vessel, the one viewed in perspective and the other in a side elevation with certain parts omitted;
FIGS. 4 and 5 are respective details of FIG. 3, seen enlarged and partly in section, illustrating the step of securing two spiral wound elements to the blood vessel;
FIG. 6 shows a further step in the procedure of inserting and implanting the prosthesis of FIG. 1, namely securing the prosthesis to the blood vessel, illustrated in perspective with certain parts omitted better to reveal
REFERENCES:
patent: 3774615 (1973-11-01), Lim et al.
patent: 4190909 (1980-03-01), Ablaza
patent: 4368736 (1983-01-01), Kaster
patent: 4769029 (1988-09-01), Patel
patent: 5127413 (1992-07-01), Ebert
patent: 5330490 (1994-07-01), Wilk et al.
Abstract of SU-176 4094 to Emelyanov, Dated Aug. 1992.
Bard Galway Limited
Prebilic Paul B.
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