METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DELIVERING A PROSTHETIC FABRIC INTO A PATIENT

摘要

An introducer and method for delivering a prosthetic fabric into a patient. The introducer includes a delivery tube having a distal end adapted to be inserted into the patient and a lumen that receives the prosthetic fabric. A loader may be provided to reconfigure the prosthetic fabric from a first configuration to a collapsed configuration and/or to insert the collapsed fabric into the lumen of the delivery tube. A plunger may be provided to push the prosthetic fabric through the delivery tube and into the patient. The loader and plunger may be combined in a dual-purpose component that is reversible to either load the fabric into the delivery tube or push the fabric through the delivery tube.