Multilumen catheter for minimizing limb ischemia

Abstract

A multilumen catheter that maximizes the blood flow into and out of the patient's vasculature while also providing for passive and / or active perfusion of tissue downstream of where the catheter resides in the vasculature. The inventive catheter comprises a proximal end, a first distal and a second distal end with first and second lumens extending from the proximal end to each of these distal ends to provide for blood circulation within one blood vessel or between two different blood vessels. The second lumen, and any additional lumens so desired, may be positioned coaxially with or radially around the first lumen. Redirecting means is provided at a distal end of at least one of said lumens for directing blood in a direction generally opposite of the direction of flow through said lumen.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 10 / 078,283, filed Feb. 14, 2002, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09 / 876,281, filed Jun. 6, 2001, both of which are incorporated herein in their entireties by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates to a multilumen catheter and, in particular, to multilumen catheters designed to prevent ischemia in patients when the catheter is positioned within the body. [0004] 2. Description of the Related Art [0005] It is often necessary to divert the flow of blood from a patient's blood vessel back to the same or a different blood vessel as part of treating a patient suffering from one or more of numerous health impairments, including cardiovascular disease, such as congestive heart failure. Although surgical cut-down procedures can achieve this, percutaneous insertion of catheters has made this procedure less in...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011] In an alternative embodiment, the multilumen catheter further comprises a third lumen with distal and proximal ends configured to be positioned entirely withi

Problems solved by technology

Still, insertion of a cannula into the circulatory system can cause complex, and sometimes adverse, reactions within the body.

One problem with using two single lumen catheters is that it subjects the patient to multiple percutaneous insertion procedures, which complicates the procedure and increases the potential for infection and other complications.

While multilumen catheters require only a single puncture of the epidermis, their performance is limited in at least two ways.

This has the potential to cause damage to the vessel as blood comes jetting out of the return lumen.

Also, it may put further stress upon blood cells, even causing hemolysis.

As a result, limited blood supply reaches tissues and organs located downstream of the catheter in the vascular system.

With insufficient perfusion, the tissues downstream of the lumen insertion site suffer from ischemia and become oxygen deprived.

Prolonged oxygen deprivation can lead to tissue damage, as is well known in the art.

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