Fatigue-resistant gastric banding device
AssigneeAllergan, Inc.
InventorJanel Birk
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A fatigue-resistant inflatable gastric banding device suitable for laparoscopic placement around the stomach of a patient for the treatment of obesity and a method for such treatment are disclosed. The device includes a gastric band having a chambered inflatable member, substantially coextensive with an inner stomach facing surface of the band, that does not crease, wrinkle or fold when adjusted, so as to present a substantially smooth contour along the inner circumference, and to avoid fatigue or failure of the member itself. A gastric band having multiple inflatable compartments or chambers, which may be inflated together or individually is also disclosed.
Claims14
A gastric band comprising:
- a body portion having a width and a length sufficient to encircle a human stomach to form a stoma;
- and
- an inflatable member coextensive with the width and continuous along the length of said body portion and having a substantially circular stomach-facing surface when the band is placed around the stomach, the inflatable member including a plurality of notches defining a plurality of chambers, the notches being structured to eliminate creasing, folding or wrinkling along the stomach-facing surface thereby reducing fatigue on the inflatable member, the body portion being located in an interior of the inflatable member.
A gastric band comprising:
- an elongated body portion having connectable ends and having a width and a length sufficient to encircle a human stomach to form a stoma;
- and
- an inflatable shell attached to said body portion and coextensive with the width and continuous along the length of said body portion, the shell forming a circular stomach-facing surface when the ends of the body portion are connected, the inflatable shell including a plurality of notches defining said plurality of chambers in fluid communication with one another;
- the body portion being received in an interior of the inflatable shell.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.