摘要 |
A delivery apparatus includes a tubular sheath including proximal, intermediate, and distal portions defining a lumen. A wall of the distal portion is transparent, allowing observation of the lumen within the distal portion. The distal portion terminates in a rounded distal tip including a plurality of leaflets. A self-expanding stent is disposed within the intermediate portion, and a bumper member is slidably disposed within the lumen proximate the stent. Before use, the sheath is retracted to bump the stent forward into the distal portion until the stent is observed within the distal portion. After the apparatus has been pre-loaded, the distal portion is advanced into a blood vessel, e.g., across a stenosis, and the sheath is retracted, causing the leaflets to open and allow the stent to be deployed, whereupon the stent automatically expands to dilate the stenosis.
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