In the field of vascular therapies, the endoluminal treatment of aneurysm is being increasingly implemented, together with the treatment of other occlusive diseases and trauma of arteries. In the particular case of infra-renal aortic aneurysm, a bifurcated graft device is currently used, which comprises at least a stump of the kind comprising a deployable and expandable metal material which is disposed at the level of the infra-renal aorta, including both iliac common arteries. In order to carry out this treatment, a double-system graft device, which basically consists of two components or parts. The first part is an aortic main tubular body aimed at endoluminally covering the infra-renal aorta, and which goes through an extension or segment that is to be coupled to one of the iliac arteries. Once this first part or component of the graft device has been positioned by the already known catheterizing techniques, the second part of the device has to be connected, which is formed by a contralateral segment to be connected to a connecting opening of the first part of the device. The contralateral segment will be received within the connecting opening of the said first part of the device and will enter said connecting opening through the guidewire of a catheter directed from the femoral artery of the patient up to the aortic aneurysm cavity. Once there, the second component of the graft device will be carefully and properly connected to the connecting opening of the first component of the said graft device.
Inserting the guidewire and guiding it until the same enters the connecting opening of the graft first component is the most difficult step, since the end of the catheter guide, once inside the aneurysm cavity, lacks any guide leading it directly towards the said connecting opening. When the professional tries to find the connecting opening so as to introduce the distal end of the catheter wire, this end can possibly penetrate the aortic mural thrombus—present in the aneurysm cavity—and can eventually cause disruption of the thrombus and embolism of the visceral arteries and of the lower extremity arteries.
In order to prevent such accidents during a treatment of aneurysm consisting in positioning an endoluminal graft, the inventor has sought a solution through the possibility of safely directing the guidewire of the catheter up to the connecting opening of the graft first component, as well as directing the said second component and having it easily connected to the first component through the corresponding connecting opening.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds