Interior liner for tubes, pipes and blood conduits

Abstract

A tube which circumferentially distends from its initial circumference upon the application of a circumferentially distending force such as applied by an internal pressure, and which exhibits minimal recoil following the removal of the circumferentially distending force. The tube preferably has a second circumference larger than the initial circumference which remains substantially unchanged by further increasing force once it has been achieved. Because of the distensible circumference and minimal recoil of the tube, the tube is useful as a liner for pipes and vessels and particularly for pipes and vessels having irregular internal surfaces to which the tube can smoothly conform. The tube is preferably made from porous PTFE with thin walls, in which form it is particularly useful as a liner for both living and prosthetic blood vessels and to line anastomoses between living and prosthetic blood vessels. The tube or any other intraluminal graft may be used in in situ bypass procedures to hold venous valves open and to occlude tributary branches. Covered stents may be used for the same purpose; stents without such a covering may also be used to hold venous valves open.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.