A patient's stomach may be secured to the patient's diaphragm. A method to accomplish this includes visualizing a wall of a patient's stomach adjacent the patient's diaphragm from within the patient's stomach, inserting a fastener deployment apparatus down the patient's esophagus and into the mammalian's stomach, and fastening the patient's stomach to the patient's diaphragm with the fastener deployment apparatus and from within the stomach. The procedure may be employed to advantage to treat a hiatal hernia, for example, either alone or in conjunction with the restoration of the patient's gastroesophageal flap valve.

A surgical implant includes a biocompatible member configured for securement to an underlying target surgical site and a radiation source integrated into or onto the biocompatible member. The surgical implant may be one of a clip, pin, or coil and the radiation source includes at least one brachytherapy capsule, or other radioactive material incorporated therein or provided thereon. The radioactive material provides a dose of radiation to the target surgical site. The surgical implant may also be formed from titanium, stainless steel or polymers. A surgical applier is provided for allowing a surgeon to apply the implant to a patient's tissue.

The present invention provides fastener anchoring devices with protruding fasteners releasably attached to graspers for insertion into a target site such as soft tissue. The devices include a retaining mechanism that can be actuated to release the fasteners from the grasper. The devices can include support material preloaded onto the fasteners.

Systems, devices and methods related to various heart valve implants and for delivery of those heart valve implants are described. The implants may be used to re-size a native valve annulus or to replace a native heart valve. The implants include a re-sizable frame having angled struts. Anchors secure the implant to tissue and collars are used to decrease the angle between the struts and contract the frame. The implant thus expands from a first size inside of a delivery catheter, to a second and larger deployed size inside the heart to engage and anchor with the tissue, and then to a third and contracted size to re-size the annulus and/or provide a secure fit for a replacement heart valve. Various delivery systems including imaging capabilities for precise delivery, positioning and anchoring of the various implants are further described.

A wound closure device includes multiple base elements arranged in a repeating pattern and a first anchor extending from a first side of each base element of the multiple base elements in a first direction for securing itself to a first layer of tissue along a wound within a body. The wound closure device further includes a second anchor extending from a second side of each base element of the multiple base elements in a second direction that is opposite to the first direction for securing itself within a second layer of tissue along the wound, such that the wound closure device is configured to hold the first and second layers of tissue against each other to close the wound.

A surgical instrument and its method of use are disclosed. In one embodiment, the surgical instrument may include a handle and an elongated shaft assembly extending distally from the handle. The elongated shaft assembly may include an articulable portion with an articulation direction. The elongated shaft assembly may also include a tubular member with a flexible portion with a preferential bending direction and a direction of bending resistance. The tubular member may permit articulation of the elongated shaft assembly when the preferential bending direction is aligned with the articulation direction.

A suturing device comprises a housing (1) having operating handles at one end and two clamping working jaws (2 and 3) at the other end, at least one of which (jaw 3) is mounted for movement relative to the second. The device also comprises: a receptacle (capsules 18) having a quick-setting, biocompatible, fluid material, which is used as a means for fastening tissues, wherein at the outlet of said receptacle is a controllable screen, for example a membrane, which is destroyed when the pressure in the receptacle is increased to a set level; and a mechanism for feeding the fluid material into a suturing zone. The working jaw (3) is hollow, and disposed therein are capsules (18) which comprise the fluid material and communicate, via the outlet, with dies (21) which are designed in a wall of the working jaw (3) that interacts with the suturable tissues. The mechanism for feeding the fluid material is designed to be capable of increasing the pressure inside the capsules (18) and forming streams of the fluid material which pass through the dies (21) at a pressure sufficient for passing through the suturable tissues.

A device for percutaneous venous valve repair generally including a catheter and a retractable and extendable member for deploying an object that affixes a portion of a venous valve leaflet to an adjacent vein wall. A related method for percutaneous venous valve repair is revealed to include percutaneously inserting a device as described herein into a peripheral vasculature of a living subject so as to affix at least a portion of a leaflet of a venous valve to an adjacent vein wall.

A system for coupling a tendon to a bone may include a tendon coupling device engageable with a tendon, a fastener to secure the tendon coupling device to the tendon, a bone coupling device, and a flexible element. The flexible element may include a first portion and a second portion. The first portion of the flexible element may be couplable with the fastener to securably attach the flexible element to the tendon. The bone coupling device may include a bone-facing surface engageable with a surface of the bone proximate a bone tunnel formed through the bone, and a hole formed through the bone coupling device. The second portion of the flexible element may be receivable through the bone tunnel and the hole formed through the bone coupling device to engage an opposing surface of the bone coupling device and securably couple the tendon to the bone.

An example medical device is disclosed. The medical device includes a delivery shaft and a frame. The frame is coupled to the distal portion of the delivery shaft, and the frame includes a body portion and at least first and second arms. Each arm has a first end attached to the body portion and a second, free end opposite the first end. The frame includes tabs on the arms and body portion configured to removably couple to an implant. The tabs on the arms and body portion may extend in different directions.