System for implanting an implant and method thereof
AssigneeBoston Scientific Scimed, Inc.
InventorsBarry N. Gellman, Jianmin Li, Jozef Slanda
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system for implanting an implant and method thereof is disclosed. In general overview, the system includes an implant, an envelope enclosing the implant, a delivery assembly and an attachment piece for attaching the envelope or implant to the delivery assembly. The envelope may include a drug coating, positioning aids, and means to ease envelope removal. In one embodiment, the delivery assembly is employed for implant and/or envelope delivery inside the patient's body. In another embodiment, the delivery assembly and an attachment piece are employed to deliver the implant or the envelope inside the patient's body.
Claims31
A system for implanting an implant at an anatomical site in the body of a patient, comprising:
- a supportive sling;
- a flexible envelope comprising an external surface and at least two sleeves that are fixedly joined together, said envelope enclosing, at least partially, said supportive sling and including a gap on said external surface that exposes a width of the sling while said at least two sleeves are fixed joined together;
- and
- a spacer for placement adjacent to said urethra and between said urethra and a portion of said supportive sling located under said urethra, wherein said spacer is disposed near a middle portion of said envelope.
A method for implanting a sling assembly in a patient
- a) inserting the sling assembly into the patient, the sling assembly comprising:
- a support sling and
- a flexible envelope comprising an external surface and at least two sleeves that are fixedly joined together, said envelope enclosing, at least partially, said supportive sling and including a gap on said external surface that exposes a width of the sling while said at least two sleeves are fixed joined together;
- and
- b) inserting a spacer between the urethra of the patient and a mid portion of the sling assembly to establish a reference distance between the urethra and the portion of the sling assembly;
- and
- c) removing the spacer to implant the sling assembly in the patient.
A system for implanting a supportive sling under a urethra in a body of a patient, comprising:
- a supportive sling;
- a flexible envelope comprising an external surface and at least two sleeves that are fixedly joined together, said envelope enclosing, at least partially, said supportive sling and including a gap on said external surface that exposes a width of the sling while said at least two sleeves are fixedly joined together;
- and
- a spacer means for placement adjacent to said urethra and between said urethra and a portion of said supportive sling located under said urethra, wherein said spacer means is disposed near a middle portion of said envelope.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.