Percutaneous catheter directed intravascular occlusion devices

1. A method of occluding a left atrial appendage (“LAA”) of a patient with a medical device, the method comprising:

accessing the patient's right atrium via a femoral vein;

advancing a delivery catheter distally through an opening in a septum of a heart of the patient until a distal end of the delivery catheter is positioned proximate to the LAA or within the LAA;

positioning the medical device within the delivery catheter in a collapsed condition, the medical device comprising:

a self-expandable occluder body having a scaffolding structure formed of nitinol, the occluder body including an outer surface that tapers distally, the medical device having a proximal end portion and a substantially planar distal end portion, the distally tapering surface transitioning directly into the substantially planar distal end portion;

a proximal end fastener coupled to the proximal end portion of the medical device, the proximal end fastener being threadedly coupled to a threaded member within the delivery catheter when the medical device is positioned within the delivery catheter in the collapsed condition;

a distal end fastener coupled to the distal end portion of the medical device, the distal end fastener being radiopaque; and

an occlusion material coupled to the scaffolding structure while the medical device is positioned within the delivery catheter in the collapsed condition,

while the distal end of the delivery catheter is positioned proximate to the LAA or within the LAA, retracting the delivery catheter proximally relative to the threaded member to urge the occluder body out of the distal end of the delivery catheter;

allowing the occluder body to self-expand within the LAA;

piercing a wall of the LAA with a plurality of retentions hooks on the occluder body, each of the retention hooks having an end oriented toward the proximal end portion of the medical device;

after piercing the wall of the LAA with the plurality of retention hooks, disconnecting the medical device from the threaded member by rotating the threaded member relative to the proximal end fastener to release the threaded connection between the medical device and the threaded member; and

substantially fully occluding the LAA in less than about 10 minutes after allowing the occluder body to self-expand within the LAA,

wherein the occluder body defines a recessed surface at a proximal wall of the occluder body such that, after the occluder body self-expands within the LAA, the recessed surface faces away from a cavity defined by the LAA and the proximal end fastener is positioned proximal to the recessed surface.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising injecting radiopaque contrast media into a left atrium of the patient after the occluder body self-expands to visualize on angiography whether the LAA is sealed from, or in communication with, the left atrium.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising determining that the LAA is in communication with the left atrium, and then repositioning the medical device within the LAA before disconnecting the medical device from the threaded member.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising visualizing an approximate size of the LAA using trans-esophageal echocardiography prior to delivering the medical device to the LAA.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising selecting a size of the medical device based on the visualized approximate size of the LAA.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein when the occluder body is urged out of the distal end of the delivery catheter, the distal end fastener deploys first from the delivery catheter.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the proximal end fastener is radiopaque.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the proximal end fastener and the distal end fastener are both formed of platinum.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the distal end fastener has a passageway therethrough so that the medical device is configured for delivery over a guidewire.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of retention hooks includes at least six retention hooks.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the occlusion material is a layer of polyester.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the substantially planar distal end portion has a diameter that is at least half of a diameter of the outer surface of the occluder body.

13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising substantially fully occluding the LAA in less than about 5 minutes after allowing the occluder body to self-expand within the LAA.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the proximal end portion of the medical device defines a proximal plane of occlusion.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the scaffolding structure of the self-expandable occluder body is formed of a laser cut or etched tube of nitinol.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the proximal end fastener is coupled to a plurality of wires of the scaffolding structure so that the plurality of wires are received within the proximal end fastener.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the distal end fastener is coupled to a plurality of wires of the scaffolding structure at the distal end portion of the medical device so that the plurality of wires are received within the distal end fastener.

18. The method of claim 1 , further comprising visualizing the radiopaque distal end fastener to assist in determining the position of the distal end fastener.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the occlusion material is a layer of polyester, and the layer of polyester is sutured to the scaffolding structure.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the layer of polyester is sutured to a circumference of the scaffolding structure.