INDWELLING BODY LUMEN EXPANDER

摘要

Indwelling body lumen expanders which allow for the maintenance and patency of a body lumen, such as the prostatic urethra to relieve urethral obstruction, are described. Because the one or more expanders are configured to be relatively larger in diameter than the diameter of the body lumen, the expanders may become invaginated into the lumen wall thus enabling the prostheses to avoid fluid exposure which in turn prevent the prostheses from becoming encrusted or calcified.

主权项

1. An apparatus for maintaining patency of a prostatic urethra lumen, comprising:
an expander structure defining an opening and configured for contact against a tissue lining of the prostatic urethra lumen, wherein the expander structure is a unitary structure having ring-like structures formed by looping the expander structure, the ring-like structures being non-coplanar and coupled by tangential portions of the expander structure, wherein the ring-like structures of the expander structure define a deployment diameter which is sized to be 8 mm or greater such that the deployment diameter is relatively larger than an expanded diameter of the prostatic urethra lumen, and wherein the expander structure has a height which is configured to be invaginated within the tissue lining of the prostatic urethra lumen while maintaining patency of the prostatic urethra lumen.