An exemplary valve repair device for repairing a native valve of a patient includes a coaption element, a pair of paddles, and barb portions. The barb portions extend directly from at least one of the coaption element and the pair of paddles.

A drain-compatible soft tissue expander can incorporate a drainage structure that allows fluid to be removed from the body of a living subject. The soft tissue expander can include an expandable shell and a drainage structure that can, for example, assist in mitigating or eliminating seromas. The drainage structure can be coupled to the shell at a plurality of locations and be removable therefrom without damaging the expandable shell.

Devices, systems and methods for compressing, cutting, incising, reconfiguring, remodeling, attaching, repositioning, supporting, dislocating or altering the composition of tissues or anatomical structures to alter their positional or force relationship to other tissues or anatomical structures. In some applications, the invention may be used to used to improve patency or fluid flow through a body lumen or cavity (e.g., to limit constriction of the urethra by an enlarged prostate gland).

A system for treating a heart includes a catheter that is advanceable into a chamber of the heart and that is repositionable within the chamber between a septal wall and an external wall to enable penetration of the septal and external walls via a needle that is disposed within a lumen of the catheter. A first guidewire is deliverable through the penetration of the septal wall so that a distal end of the first guidewire is disposed within another chamber of the heart. A second guidewire is deliverable through the penetration of the external wall so that a distal end of the second guidewire is disposed externally of the external wall. The first guidewire is connectable to the second guidewire to join or form a path within the chamber that extends between the septal wall and the external wall.

A heart valve anchor apparatus may include a body having a proximal portion and a distal portion. The body may include a first radially expandable portion at the proximal portion of the body, a second radially expandable portion at the distal portion of the body, and a root portion extending from the first radially expandable portion to the second radially expandable portion, the root portion having an outer extent. The first radially expandable portion may be configured to self-expand to an outer extent greater than the outer extent of the root portion when radially unconstrained. The second radially expandable portion may be configured to self-expand to an outer extent greater than the outer extent of the root portion when radially unconstrained. In an unstressed configuration, the body may define a longitudinal centerline that extends away from a plane tangent to the root portion.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, an end effector for use with a surgical device is provided. The end effector includes a drive assembly, a driver, a needle assembly and a biasing element. The driver is disposed in mechanical cooperation with the drive assembly. Rotation of the drive assembly in a first direction causes distal translation of the driver with respect to the drive assembly. The needle assembly is disposed in mechanical cooperation with the driver. Distal translation of the driver causes a corresponding distal translation of the needle assembly. The biasing element is disposed in mechanical cooperation with the needle assembly and is configured to bias the needle assembly proximally.

Devices, systems, and methods to improve both the reliability of soft tissue repair procedures and the speed at which the procedures are completed are provided. The devices and systems include one or more tissue augmentation constructs, which include constructs that are configured to increase a footprint across which suture applied force to tissue when the suture is tied down onto the tissue. The tissue augmentation constructs can be quickly and easily associated with the repair suture, and can be useful in many different tissue repair procedures that are disclosed in the application. Tissue augmentation constructs can include various blocks and scaffolds, among other formations. The present disclosure includes, among other disclosures, methods for using tissue augmentation scaffolds, including folding scaffolds, and descriptions and methods associated with extra-wide tissue augmentation blocks.

A tensioning device includes an elongate plunger, a plunger track housing configured to receive the plunger therein at least in part, an elongate tube configured to be coupled to the plunger track housing, and an actuator configured to cause axial translation of at least a portion of the plunger within the plunger track housing.

A clip and a clip deployment and delivery system. The clip may be engaged with a clip spreader such that simple relative movement, such as sliding movement, between the clip and clip spreader causes the clip and clip spreader to disengage from each other. A clip spreader actuator may be coupled to one arm of the clip spreader, extend distally around a distal end of the clip spreader, proximally along the other clip spreader arm, and to a proximal end at which the actuator may be controlled to open or close the clip spreader. The clips may be leaflet clips having teeth on one arm thereof and bumps on another arm thereof. The arms of the leaflet clip may be biased into a closed configuration by a flex zone which has an expanded portion extending laterally away from only one of the clip arms.

Various aspects of the present disclosure are directed toward apparatuses, systems, and methods that include tissue anchors such as for chordae tendineae repair.