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Abstract

A blood vessel wall-defining device and method for using the device for repairing an aneurysm. The device comprises in combination, a percutaneously-insertable structural frame extending between first and second ends having an unexpanded diameter which is smaller than the diameter of the blood vessel to allow the structural frame to be percutaneously placed into the blood vessel, the structural frame being expansible to form a generally cylindrical structural skeleton having a slightly larger diameter than the blood vessel to facilitate the securing of the structural skeleton in position in the blood vessel, and an independently, percutaneously-insertable, expansible tubular member extending between first and second ends constructed to be percutaneously placed subsequent to the placement of the structural frame, the tubular member comprising a thin-walled flexible tubular membrane extending between the first and second ends of the tubular member, the thin-walled flexible tubular membrane being essentially impermeable to blood and blood products, and means for expanding and holding the thin-walled flexible tubular membrane adjacent the inside of the structural skeleton, in a cooperative relationship therewith, in a manner that the outer surface of the thin-walled flexible tubular membrane is held in secure contact with the inside of the previously-placed structural skeleton.

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First Claim