| 摘要 |
<p>A vascular graft (26) is held in a collapsed state on a pair of stents (20) which take the form of flexible sheets wound around spool (14). A sheath (34) is fitted closely around the graft (26) to hold it in its collapsed state and to retain the stents (20) in rolls (24) tightly wound on the spool (14). After the spool (14) has been inserted into a damaged vessel area (12) and advanced to the area of vascular damage, the sheath (34) is withdrawn. The stents (20) then unwind and expand to press the ends of the graft (26) against healthy parts of the vessel (10) on opposite sides of the damaged area (12). An alternative embodiment (Figs. 6 and 7) of the invention includes a Y-shaped graft (126) for application to a branched part of a vessel. In place of a sheath, control cords (36, 42, 48) with slip knots (38, 44, 50) are used to retain the stents (20) in their contracted conditions while the graft (126) is being positioned in the vessel (10a, 10b, 10c).</p> |
