Importance

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Abstract

A surgical device for facilitating an intraluminal treatment of a stenosis in an anatomic vessel. The device comprises a spirally-configured constraint defining a spiral gap between convolutions that cooperates with a longitudinally-extending interior bore dimensioned to receive an anatomic vessel, for example an artery. The artery is disposed with the interior bore by 'corkscrewing' the constraint around the exterior of the vessel, thus constraining the artery's transverse dimension. In performing an exemplary method of the invention, the surgeon captures the artery in constraint's interior bore and then widens the stenosis with a balloon catheter. The constraint allows the use of relatively high fluid pressures in the balloon catheter to compact occlusions in the stenosed vessel against the extraluminal constraint while at the same time limiting radial expansion of vessel walls to prevent over-expansion or perforation of the vessel.

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First Claim