Vascular Prosthesis Assembly with Retention Mechanism and Method

A vascular prosthesis assembly comprising:

• a self expanding vascular prosthesis having a body placeable in contracted and expanded states, the vascular prosthesis having distal and proximal ends and a generally cylindrical outer surface, the vascular prosthesis defining an axis and an axial length;
• the body of the vascular prosthesis having openings formed therein and overlapping first and second body layers when in the contracted state;
• and
• a selectively releasable retention mechanism along the outer surface maintaining the vascular prosthesis in the contracted state, the retention mechanism comprising:
• one or more strands extending along the axial length and engaging the first and second body layers by the passage of the at least one of the one or more strands through said openings;
• the one or more strands comprising a user-accessible release strand to permit release of the retention mechanism by manipulation of the release strand.

A vascular prosthesis assembly comprising:

• a self expanding vascular prosthesis placeable in contracted and expanded states, the vascular prosthesis having distal and proximal ends and a generally cylindrical outer surface, the vascular prosthesis defining an axis and an axial length;
• and
• a selectively releasable retention mechanism along the outer surface maintaining the vascular prosthesis in the contracted state, the retention mechanism comprising:
• a generally cylindrical sheath housing the vascular prosthesis and having proximal and distal ends;
• and
• means for selectively splitting the sheath at the distal end thereof.

A method for retaining and delivering a vascular prosthesis to a target site within a patient comprising:

• obtaining a self expanding vascular prosthesis placeable in contracted and expanded states, the vascular prosthesis having distal and proximal ends and a generally cylindrical outer surface, the vascular prosthesis defining an axis and an axial length;
• and
• placing a selectively releasable retention mechanism along the outer surface to maintain the vascular prosthesis in the contracted state, the placing step comprising:
• securing a strand along the radially contracted prosthesis through use of a plurality of release knots, the strand forming release knots at release knot positions to maintain the vascular prosthesis in the contracted state;
• and
• deploying prosthesis by releasing the release knots to permit the vascular prosthesis to assume the expanded state.