Currently, the standard treatment of narrow and blocked arteries is to bypass the narrow part of the vessel with an additional vessel. When such an operation is to be performed the blood flow at the site where the additional vessel should be connected has to be excluded to prohibit bleeding. To exclude the blood flow, clamps normally are applied to the vessel which is to be connected to the additional vessel, either on one or both sides of the connection site. This can also be achieved by means of a side-clamp that excludes a part of the lumen around the intended opening.
Today, surgery is heading towards endoscopic surgery, also called keyhole surgery. To apply clamps on arteries through endoscopic ports is very demanding and sometimes impossible, especially on the aorta.
One way of reducing the problems described above is by using the device described in WO 98/52475. However, the preparation of a site for connecting a prospective blood vessel using this device is complicated and time-consuming. This results in the fact that the time for sealing is long and thus blood will be leaking out of the receiving blood vessel. Further, the device in WO 98/52475 is complicated because of its design, which makes it difficult to maintain, sterilize, and manufacture.