A vascular graft suitable for implantation, and more particular to a vascular graft having an expandable outflow region for restoring patency of the graft after implantation into a body lumen.

A delivery system for delivering and deploying stent grafts having a proximal stent includes a first lumen and a stent capture device including a capture portion fixedly connected adjacent a first lumen distal end. An outer catheter has a catheter distal end and a catheter inner diameter. A second lumen having a second distal end is slidably disposed about the first lumen and within the outer catheter. A stent graft sheath has a sheath proximal end connected to the second distal end and disposed about the first lumen. The sheath has a sheath distal end and a sheath inner diameter greater than the catheter inner diameter for holding a compressed stent graft. A distal nose cone has a cone proximal end connected to either the capture portion or the first distal end. The nose cone and the capture portion are movably adjustable to selectively capture the sheath distal end therebetween.

An anchor stent assembly to be used with a valve component includes a generally tubular frame having a first end and a second end, the frame defining a central passage and a central axis. A secondary passage is defined between n inner surface of the frame and an outer surface of an inner rib disposed closer to the central axis than the frame. An extension tube is disposed through the secondary passage. The extension tube includes an extension tube lumen having a first opening at a first end of the extension tube and a second opening at a second end of the extension tube.

A delivery system for transcatheter implantation of a heart valve prosthesis. The delivery system includes an outer sheath component defining a lumen therethrough, an elongate tube having at least two flat wires longitudinally extending from a distal end thereof, and self-expanding first and second frames disposed in series within a distal portion of the outer sheath component and held in a compressed delivery configuration therein. The elongate tube and the at least two flat wires are slidably disposed within the lumen of the outer sheath component. In the compressed delivery configuration the at least two flat wires longitudinally extend along exterior portions of the first and second frames and are woven through adjacent ends of the first and second frames to releasably couple them to each other. Proximal retraction of the at least two flat wires from the first and second frames releases at least the first frame from the delivery system.

A stent includes a high radial force segment and a highly flexible segment, where the diameters of the high radial force segment and the highly flexible segment are substantially the same. The stent may further be placed with an additional stent segment, where the additional stent segment has a radial force similar to the radial force of the highly flexible force segment.

An intravascular implant can include a pair of inner rings comprising a distal inner ring and a proximal inner ring. A plurality of inner bridges can extend between opposing adjacent apices of the distal and proximal inner rings. Each of the plurality of inner bridges can form an eyelet. The implant can include a pair of outer rings comprising a distal outer ring and a proximal outer ring. The distal and proximal outer rings that can each be formed by a plurality of struts connected by apices formed in a zig-zag pattern. A plurality of outer bridge members can include a plurality of outer bridge members that extend between opposing adjacent apices of the distal outer ring and distal inner ring and outer bridge members that extend between opposing adjacent apices of the proximal outer ring and proximal inner ring.

In one embodiment according to the present invention, a stent is described having a generally cylindrical body formed from a single woven nitinol wire. The distal and proximal ends of the stent include a plurality of loops, some of which include marker members used for visualizing the position of the stent. In another embodiment, the previously described stent includes an inner flow diverting layer.

A stent graft delivery system and method for implanting a stent graft includes and employs at least one control rod that extends along a luminal wall of a stent graft and at least one ligature. The ligature extends about radial stents. Rotation of the control rod or a tube extending about the control rod wraps the ligature about the control rod, thereby radial constricting the stent about which the ligature extends.

In one embodiment according to the present invention, a stent is described having a generally cylindrical body formed from a single woven nitinol wire. The distal and proximal ends of the stent include a plurality of loops, some of which include marker members used for visualizing the position of the stent. In another embodiment, the previously described stent includes an inner flow diverting layer.

Apparatus (20) is provided for use with a guidewire (12). The apparatus includes a guide tube (22) having a guidewire-engaging portion (122) and a slit (28) extending proximally along a wall of the guide tube, from a distal end (32) of the tube, a proximal end (29) of the slit being located distally to a proximal end (30) of the tube. A first stent (52) surrounds the tube and is advanceable together with the tube into a lumen of a subject, the first stent being slidably advanceable off the distal end of the tube; and a second stent (54), proximal to the first stent, surrounding a proximal portion of the tube, and advanceable off the distal end of the tube into the lumen, and placed alongside the first stent subsequently to advancement of the first stent off the distal end of the tube. Other applications are also described.