Claims
- 1. In a vascular graft for resolving an aneurysm in a blood vessel of the type comprising a generally liquid impervious, tubular, collapsible, and expandable body having a first and second end, and a graft retention system disposed at each of said first and second ends for retaining said graft in a blood vessel, in use, said graft retention system being collapsible and expandable, the improvement comprising a support strap adapted to surround the exterior of said blood vessel, said support strap having a closure means for retaining said strap in a circular configuration when said strap is disposed around a blood vessel at a location adjacent to each of said graft retention systems, and said support strap further having a plurality of teeth on a length of said strap.
- 2. In a vascular graft for resolving an aneurysm in a blood vessel of the type comprising a generally liquid impervious, tubular, collapsible, and expandable body having a first and second end, and a graft retention system disposed at each of said first and second ends for retaining said graft in a blood vessel, in use, said graft retention system being collapsible and expandable, the improvement comprising a support strap adapted to surround the exterior of said blood vessel, said support strap having a closure means for retaining said strap in a circular configuration when said strap is disposed around a blood vessel at a location adjacent to each of said graft retention systems, wherein said closure means comprises a cable-tie buckle at one end of said support strap and protruding ridges on a side of said support strap wherein said protruding ridges secure said support strap within said cable-tie buckle.
- 3. In a vascular graft for resolving an aneurysm in a blood vessel of the type comprising a generally liquid impervious, tubular, collapsible, and expandable body having a first and second end, and a graft retention system disposed at each of said first and second ends for retaining said graft in a blood vessel, in use, said graft retention system being collapsible and expandable, the improvement comprising a support strap adapted to surround the exterior of said blood vessel, said support strap having a closure means for retaining said strap in a circular configuration when said strap is disposed around a blood vessel at a location adjacent to each of said graft retention systems, said support strap further having a channel along the length of said strap.
- 4. The support strap of claim 3, wherein said support strap includes a penetrable membrane coupled to said support strap and covering said channel.
- 5. The support strap of claim 4, wherein said support strap includes a marking to indicate the location of said channel.
- 6. The support strap of claim 5, wherein said marking is a radio-opaque marking.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Related Application
This is a divisional of application Ser. No. 08/635,641 filed Apr. 22, 1996, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08/300,059 filed Sep. 2, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,355.
US Referenced Citations (13)
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
617930 |
Oct 1994 |
EPX |
2269104 |
Feb 1994 |
GBX |
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
635641 |
Apr 1996 |
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Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
300059 |
Sep 1994 |
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