Hollow member

Claim 1

CLAIMS 1, A flexible hollow member, particularly a prosthetic vascular device, which is intended to be implanted in parts of the human or animal bodies and which comprises or consists of a flexible prosthetic tube permitting a medium to flow therethrough; characterized in that the wall of the prosthetic tube comprises at least one plaited tube formed as a hollow mesh unit and consisting of flexible, resilient filaments, which tube, in the zone that it occupies, imparts to the prosthetic tube inprosthetic tube will now be described by refer- 110 creased resistance to buckling and compresence to an example: The plaited tube 11 may consist of single polyesterephtha late threads (0. 2 mm dia., circular cross-section; weave construction: 48 braid, basket-weave, 15 cross-over points per em, inside diameter 12 mm). This plaited tube 11 is heated to a temperature of 1 WC immediately prior to being drawn on 'to the unit 15, and is held at this temperature for approximately 5 min. The plaited tube 11 is then drawn on to the unit 15 and secured in a punctiform manner by means of a medical grade silicone elastomer adhesive (four adhe sion points being uniformly distributed over the periphery at intervals of 1 em along the length). Instead of drawing a previously pre pared hollow mesh unit in the form of a plaited tube 11 on to the prosthetic unit 15, a procedure may be used whereby the pros thetic unit 15 is first pushed on to a circular 130 v 60 sion.