Importance

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Abstract

An attachment or locking apparatus which can effectively secure an implant, such as a stent or stent graft, to a vessel or hollow organ wall and which allows minimally-invasive techniques, such as laparoscopy, to be used to attach the implant. The locking element is inserted through an anatomic vessel or hollow organ wall and the implant from outside of the vessel or hollow organ. The locking element preferably is composed of a thin retaining element and a clamping element at one end of the retaining element. A positioning device with an attached locking element may be inserted into the patient's body, such that the positioning device penetrates both the vascular or hollow organ wall and the implant deployed within the vascular or hollow organ wall. The clamping element, held within the positioning device, is then ejected into the vessel or hollow organ. The locking element is pulled tight, and then the locking element is secured into place. The locking element made be secured in place by physically deforming a portion of the retaining element outside of the vascular or hollow organ wall, by either winding or bending the retaining element.

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First Claim