A prosthetic heart valve includes a frame having an inflow end and an outflow end, and defining a longitudinal axis. The prosthetic heart valve further includes a leaflet structure situated at least partially within the frame, and a covering disposed around the frame. The covering includes a first woven portion extending circumferentially around the frame and including a plurality of texturized strands or yarns extending along the longitudinal axis of the frame. The covering further includes a second woven portion extending circumferentially around the frame and spaced apart from the first woven portion along the longitudinal axis of the frame. The texturized strands extend along the longitudinal axis of the frame from the first woven portion to the second woven portion and form a floating portion between the first woven portion and the second woven portion.

A stent that includes a plurality of quill filaments. Each quill filament includes filament material, a surface, and a plurality of quills. Each quill has a tip, a body, and a base where the body extends from the base to the tip. The quill filaments can be interwoven to form the stent or the quill filaments can be engaged to the framework of a stent.

A length extensible implantable device includes a porous member and a longitudinal constraining member. The longitudinal constraining member can constrain at least a portion, up to the entire length of, the porous member in the longitudinal direction. The length of the longitudinally constrained portion can be expanded by applying force to the porous member. The porous member may be a porous tubular member.

Medical appliances may be formed of multilayered constructs. The layers of the constructs may be configured with various physical properties or characteristics. The disposition and arrangement of each layer may be configured to create an overall construct with a combination of the individual properties of the layers. Constructs may be used to create vascular prostheses or other medical devices.

A prosthetic heart valve includes a frame having an inflow end and an outflow end, and defining a longitudinal axis. The prosthetic heart valve further includes a leaflet structure situated at least partially within the frame, and a covering disposed around the frame. The covering includes a first woven portion extending circumferentially around the frame and including a plurality of texturized strands or yarns extending along the longitudinal axis of the frame. The covering further includes a second woven portion extending circumferentially around the frame and spaced apart from the first woven portion along the longitudinal axis of the frame. The texturized strands extend along the longitudinal axis of the frame from the first woven portion to the second woven portion and form a floating portion between the first woven portion and the second woven portion.

An implant comprises a first fabric and a second fabric. The first fabric comprises first fibers, disposed in a first orientation, and second fibers interwoven with the first fibers and disposed in a second orientation that is different to the first orientation. The second fabric comprises third fibers, and fourth fibers interwoven with the third fibers. The second fabric is attached to the first fabric in a manner in which: the first and second fabrics collectively form a body portion of the implant, the third fibers are disposed in a third orientation that is different to the first and second orientations, and the fourth fibers are disposed in a fourth orientation that is different to the first, second, and third orientations. The body portion is configured to be secured to an upstream surface of a native valve of a heart of a subject. Other embodiments are also described.

At least a portion of sheet materials for use in medical devices is formed from polymeric materials. The sheet materials may be partially coated or fully coated with one or more additional layers of a polymer. The sheet materials may be used for the leaflets and/or cuffs of prosthetic heart valves and as a component of other medical devices.

A heart valve is at least partially constructed from a block-copolymer, the block-copolymer having a phase structure formed by its constituent blocks, and wherein the phase structure is arranged so as to produce anisotropic physical properties in the heart valve.

A stabilized fabric composed of a mesh or a woven fabric is disclosed as are methods of their manufacture, the manufacture of medical devices made using a stabilized fibers and stabilized medical devices are all disclosed. Fabrics can be stabilized by several techniques including: using mechanical, chemical and/or energetic fasteners at warp and weft intersections in the weave; by using various weaving techniques and fibers. Meshes can be stabilized when properly dimensioned and arranged junctions and struts of the necessary properties are used. All of these stabilized fabrics can be made of synthetic polymer materials such as ultrahigh molecular weight PE or PP and expanded PTFE.

A length extensible implantable device includes a porous member and a longitudinal constraining member. The longitudinal constraining member can constrain at least a portion, up to the entire length of, the porous member in the longitudinal direction. The length of the longitudinally constrained portion can be expanded by applying force to the porous member. The porous member may be a porous tubular member.