| abstract |
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for sealing a puncture in a tubular tissue structure or the wall of a body cavity. More specifically, the present invention is directed to an apparatus and method for sealing a puncture site in the wall of a tubular tissue structure, or in the wall of a body cavity with a bioabsorbable material such as submucosal tissue, another extracellular or matrix-derived tissue, or a synthetic material capable of remodeling endogenous connective tissue in vivo. The bioabsorbable material is inserted into the puncture site as a sheet on an introducer element used to access the lumen of a tubular tissue structure or used to access a body cavity. |