Noncylindrical stent deployment for treating vascular bifurcations
AssigneeDevax, Inc.
InventorsJacques Sequin, Robert John Elicker, Jean-Claude Laborde
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Abstract
A device and method for treating pathological narrowing of fluid-carrying conduits of the human body (such as blood vessels) in an area of a bifurcation is disclosed. In particular, a stent system carries a self expandable noncylindrical stent, which is particularly suited for treating a widened portion of a blood vessel immediately proximal to a bifurcation. A stent delivery system is also disclosed, for delivering the stent such that a larger expanded diameter end of the stent faces the bifurcation, and a smaller expanded diameter end of the stent faces proximally in the main vessel.
Claims5
A method of treating a vascular bifurcation of a proximal main vessel into a first and a second distal branch vessels, comprising the steps of:
- providing a delivery catheter having a first stent thereon, the first stent having a proximal, upstream end and a distal, downstream end and being self expandable to a configuration having a single central lumen in which the proximal, upstream end has a smaller diameter than the distal, downstream end;
- positioning the delivery catheter such that the first stent is at a treatment site within the proximal main vessel with the distal, downstream end adjacent the vascular bifurcation;
- and
- deploying the first stent in the proximal main vessel such that the first stent self expands to a configuration in which the proximal, upstream end of the first stent has a smaller diameter than the distal, downstream end of the first stent, and in which the distal, downstream end communicates with both the first and the second distal branch vessels.
A method of treating a vascular bifurcation of a main vessel into first and second branch vessels, comprising the steps of:
- deploying a substantially cylindrical stent in a first branch vessel which is distal to the bifurcation;
- and
- deploying a tapered stent in the main vessel, proximal to the bifurcation;
- wherein the tapered stent has a single central lumen and tapers in a distal direction from a smaller proximal diameter to a larger distal diameter which faces the bifurcation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.