Importance

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Abstract

A passive fixation device, defined by a generally elongated body with proximal and distal ends, and a connecting member to connect the two, is used for the anastomosis of body lumens without sutures. The proximal and distal ends are non-deployed in a non-deployed position, and are deployed in a deployed position. While in the non-deployed positions, the passive fixation device is inserted into one or more body lumens. After insertion, both the proximal and distal ends are deployed and become expanded. One end is first deployed, and then the other. The deployed proximal end becomes retained in a first lumen, and the deployed distal end becomes retained in a second lumen. In one embodiment, the first lumen is the urethra, and the second lumen is the bladder. The two lumens are permitted to become anastomized without sutures. The passive fixation device may be made of different materials and can have coiled proximal and distal ends that are expanded to their deployed positions by a Foley catheter. Additionally, the passive fixation device can be a tightly wound coil that is self-deployed when it is advanced out of a delivery catheter. The coil can also be made of a shaped memory metal. At certain temperatures, it becomes deployed. With a change in temperature, either higher or lower, the coil collapses, and is then removed from the respective body lumen.

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First Claim