Abstract: The present invention is directed to a device which is capable of both locating a punctured blood vessel wall and sealing the puncture in the vessel and to the method of using the device as well. In one embodiment, the device includes an elongate deployment member having a sealing element releasably disposed within a distal end thereof, said deployment member being coupled to a first actuator configured to retract said deployment member relative to said sealing element, and an elongated indicator member having a proximal end and a distal end, said indicator member extending through a lumen in said deployment member such that the distal end of said indicator member extends distally of the distal end of the deployment member, and said indicator member being coupled to a second actuator configured to retract said indicator member relative to said deployment member.

Abstract: A threading device assembly for use in plastic surgery that includes a threading rod and a removable suture assembly secured to the threading rod. The threading rod includes an elongated tube with first and second opposite ends and a reduced diameter portion defined therein, and a translucent light guide extending through the elongated tube. The light guide allows light to be transmitted through the material comprising the light guide from one end of the tube to the other. The removable suture assembly includes a cuff positioned in and at least partially around the reduced diameter portion of the elongated tube, and a suture secured to the cuff.

Abstract: The present invention is specifically directed to a heart occlusion device with a self-centering mechanism. The heart occlusion device includes two separate uniquely shaped wires 12, 14, each forming shapes that mirror the respective wire's shapes. Each wire forms half-discs or quarter-discs that together form a distal disc and a proximal disc. In other versions, the device includes four separate wires, each mirroring its neighboring wire and forming a proximal and a distal quarter-disc. In the versions with four wires, the quarter-discs of each wire together form proximal and distal discs. The distal disc and proximal disc are separated by a self-centering waist. The proximal disc is attached to a hub comprising a screw mechanism. A similar hub is optional on the distal disc. The discs further include coverings which form a sealant to occlude an aperture in a tissue.

Abstract: Devices and methods for tissue acquisition and fixation, or gastroplasty, are described. Generally, the devices of the system may be advanced in a minimally invasive manner within a patient's body, e.g., transorally, endoscopically, percutaneously, etc., to create one or several divisions or plications within the hollow body organ. Such divisions or plications can form restrictive barriers within a organ, or can be placed to form a pouch, or gastric lumen, smaller than the remaining stomach volume to essentially act as the active stomach such as the pouch resulting from a surgical Roux-En-Y gastric bypass procedure. Moreover, the system is configured such that once acquisition of the tissue by the gastroplasty device is accomplished, any manipulation of the acquired tissue is unnecessary as the device is able to automatically configure the acquired tissue into a desired configuration.

Abstract: The present invention provides devices, systems, and methods for percutaneously sealing a puncture site in tissue tracts and vessels in human or animal bodies. One system includes a locating assembly that is used to locate the puncture site and can also provide temporary hemostasis when the system is used for closing a vessel puncture. The system also includes a compression assembly comprising a tubular member with a balloon on a distal end thereof. This balloon is at a fixed distance from the locator tip which locates the balloon outside the vessel wall at a predetermined distance. Inflation of this balloon causes forward elongation of the balloon which compresses subcutaneous tissue between the distal tip of the balloon and the vessel wall. This tissue compression against the puncture site is the mechanism that provides hemostasis.

Abstract: Described herein are suture passers that may be used for repair of the meniscus of the knee. These suture passers typically include an elongate body having a pair of arms. One or more of the arms may be radiused at the distal end region relative to the long axis of the device, to better fit between a target tissue and a body non-target tissue (e.g., the curvature of the femoral condyle). The arms may form a distal-facing opening that is configured to fit the target tissue. One arm may be movable in the axial direction (e.g., the direction of the long axis of the device), while the other arm may be bendable. A tissue penetrator may be housed within one of the arms to extend across the distal opening between the arms. Thus, a suture may be passed from a first side of the tissue to a second side.

Abstract: A method of removing material from a blood flow lumen generally includes providing a device having a cutting element and an opening, advancing the device through the blood flow lumen to a site where material is to be removed, forcing the opening toward a wall of the site where material is to be removed, and moving the cutting element and the opening so that material in the blood flow lumen is cut by the cutting element and directed into the opening for removal as the cutting element and opening are moved through the blood flow lumen. In some embodiments, the device may be deflected or bent to force the opening toward a wall to remove material. The cutting element may be rotatable and may have an axis that is movable, that is not parallel to the longitudinal axis of the device, or both.

Abstract: A threading device assembly for use in plastic surgery that includes a first elongated rod having first and second opposite ends, a second elongated rod having first and second opposite ends, and a suture having first and second opposite ends. The first end of the suture is secured to the first elongated rod at a location that is approximately halfway between the first and second ends, and the second end of the suture is secured to the second elongated rod at a location that is approximately halfway between the first and second ends.

Abstract: A clip applying apparatus is described for applying clips seriatim to tissue. The apparatus includes a lockout member for limiting distal movement of the camming member after the proximal-most clip has been applied to tissue. In one embodiment, the apparatus includes a jaw locking member for preventing approximation of the jaw members of the apparatus. In one embodiment, a latch assembly is provided to releasably engage a clip pusher of the apparatus to the camming member of the apparatus.

Abstract: The invention relates to a polymeric mesh implant for use in reconstruction of tissue defects, which mesh implant comprises a first set of fibers arranged in a first knit pattern comprising apertures, wherein each aperture, or a subset thereof, comprises an elastic fiber arranged in a first direction of the mesh implant such that when the mesh implant is stretched in this first direction, the elastic fibers are elongated and also exert a restoring force on the first knit pattern.

Abstract: A method for performing a coronary artery bypass graft procedure on a patient to connect a bypass vessel to a target vessel includes the steps of creating an opening in the patient that communicates with the thoracic cavity of the patient; providing a bypass vessel having a lumen and at least one free end; passing the free end of the bypass vessel from the thoracic cavity through the opening to a position outside the body of the patient; attaching a connector to the free end of bypass vessel while the free end of the bypass vessel is outside the body of the patient; passing the free end of the bypass vessel from the position outside the body of the patient through the opening and into the thoracic cavity; and connecting the free end of the bypass vessel to a target vessel with the connector.

Abstract: A medical device for wound closure, including an elongate body with a plurality of portions and a perforated region disposed therebetween. The medical device may also include an alignment member. The wound plug may also have a first position for insertion, the portions being mechanically coupled to each other, and a second position where one or more of the portions are spatially separated.

Abstract: There are disclosed various embodiments of surgical tacks for use in surgical procedures. The tacks generally include a head and a barrel portion extending distally from the head. Preferably, the head and the barrel portion define a throughbore for receipt of a drive instrument. A thread on the head is provided to engage threads in the installation tool. A tissue thread is provided on the barrel portion to engage tissue. Distal and proximal surfaces of the tissue thread may be oriented at various angles relative to the barrel portion. There is also disclosed an insertion instrument to insert one or more tacks as well as a method of use. There is further disclosed a model device for use in explaining the operation of the instrument.

Abstract: A prosthesis for implantation at a native semilunar valve includes a prosthetic distal valve, which includes a pliant material configured to collapse inwardly towards a longitudinal axis of the prosthesis during diastole, and to open outwardly during systole, and a distal fixation member configured to be positioned in a downstream artery of the subject. The apparatus also includes a proximal fixation member coupled to the distal fixation member, and configured to be positioned at least partially on a ventricular side of the native semilunar valve. The proximal fixation member is shaped so as to define a lattice that is shaped so as to define an intermediary portion that is coupled to the pliant material of the valve and diverges outwardly from the longitudinal axis, and a distal portion that is distal to the intermediary portion and diverges outwardly from the intermediary portion of the lattice. Other embodiments are also described.

Abstract: There are disclosed various embodiments of surgical tacks for use in surgical procedures. The tacks generally include a head and a barrel portion extending distally from the head. Preferably, the head and the barrel portion define a throughbore for receipt of a drive instrument. A thread on the head is provided to engage threads in the installation tool. A tissue thread is provided on the barrel portion to engage tissue. Distal and proximal surfaces of the tissue thread may be oriented at various angles relative to the barrel portion. There is also disclosed an insertion instrument to insert one or more tacks as well as a method of use. There is further disclosed a model device for use in explaining the operation of the instrument.

Abstract: Devices, delivery systems, and delivery techniques for an occlusion device for closure of physical anomalies, such as an atrial septal defect, a patent foramen ovale (PFO), and other septal and vascular defects are described. Specifically, an occluder with a catch member that holds the occluder in the deployed, expanded profile configuration is provided within a delivery sheath. The proximal end of the catch member includes a flap that when positioned proximal to the proximal end of the occluder holds the occluder in the expanded profile configuration. The flap is sized and formed of a material that allows the flap to deform by bending back and forth in axial and radial directions. In certain embodiments, the flap has segments divided by notches. In certain embodiments, deforming the flap in the proximal direction requires a different amount of force than deforming the flap in the distal direction.

Abstract: Described herein are meniscus suture passers for repair of the meniscus of the knee. These devices are typically suture passers that may include an elongate body having a pair of arms. One or more of the arms may be angled or bent at the distal end region relative to the long axis of the device, forming a distal-facing opening that is configured to fit meniscus tissue. One or both arms may be movable in the axial direction (e.g., the direction of the long axis of the device). The devices typically include a tissue penetrating element housed within one of the arms but configured to extend across the distal opening between the arms. Thus, a suture may be passed from a first side of the tissue to a second side.

Abstract: A staple having a crown, a deformable leg extending from the crown, and a spring extending from the crown configured to compress tissue between the spring and the deformable member. Owing to the flexibility of the spring, the staple can accommodate a wide range of tissue thicknesses while still compressing the tissue captured therein. As a result, a single staple design can be used in a wide variety of surgical procedures thereby reducing the amount of staple designs that must be provided to the surgeon. In at least one embodiment, the staple includes a crushable member. This crushable member can include a plastically deformable first portion and an elastically deformable second portion. The present invention can also include, in various embodiments, a crown, a first deformable member extending from the crown, and means for compressing the tissue against the first deformable member.

Abstract: A needle delivery device that has particular application for providing needles for minimally invasive spinal surgical procedures. The device includes an elongated pincher having opposing rails that is slidable within a channel defined in an extended base portion. Widened end portions of the rails hold the needle and push it out of an end of the device where it is released. The pincher is then retracted to a location where the end portions can pick up a next needle to be delivered.

Abstract: A vascular implant for replacing a native heart valve comprises a self expanding stent supporting a valve body having leaflets. The stent preferably comprises an anchoring structure configured to prevent the implant from passing through the valve annulus. For delivery, the implant is compacted within a delivery device and secured at one end. During delivery the implant is partially released from the delivery device, and positioning of the implant can be verified prior to full release. The implant can be at least partially resheathed and repositioned if desired.