Inventors:
Demetrios Demetriades - Los Angeles CA, US
Bruce Gingles - Bloomington IN, US
James B. Hunt - Bloomington IN, US
Charles L. McIntosh - Silver Spring MD, US
Assignee:
Cook Medical Technologies LLC - Bloomington IN
International Classification:
A61F 2/84, A61F 2/82
Abstract:
An assembly for open surgical repair of a damaged wall portion of a body vessel includes a stent/graft device comprising an elongated stent body and a graft material covering the stent body. The device is expandable from a compressed condition having a diameter less than a diameter of the vessel to an expanded condition at least as great as the diameter of the vessel. A sheath enclosing the device when in the compressed condition includes a sheath body and a pull string for selectively splitting the sheath body to allow expansion of the device. The device and enclosing sheath are sized for insertion through the damaged wall portion into the vessel, wherein the pull string is extendable through the damaged wall portion for splitting the sheath body.