A growth stent and valve and methods for making and using the same. The growth stent and valve may be delivered to treat early stage congenital lesions, while expanding to adult vessel diameters. In selected embodiments, the growth stent and valve can comprise a frame and may have a covering on some portion to prevent blood flow through a wall of the frame. The growth stent and valve advantageously can maintain radial strength across an entire range of diameters necessary to treat a narrowed lesion from birth and childhood through adulthood as the vessels grow over the lifetime of a patient.

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.

This invention is a system for the treatment of body passageways; in particular, vessels with vascular disease. The system includes an endovascular graft with a low-profile delivery configuration and a deployed configuration in which it conforms to the morphology of the vessel or body passageway to be treated as well as various connector members and stents. The graft is made from an inflatable graft body section and may be bifurcated. One or more inflatable cuffs may be disposed at either end of the graft body section. At least one inflatable channel is disposed between and in fluid communication with the inflatable cuffs.

Apparatus for delivering stents to body lumens include one or more tubular prostheses carried at the distal end of a catheter shaft, a sheath slidably disposed over the prostheses, and a guidewire tube extending from within the sheath to the exterior of the sheath through an exit port in a sidewall thereof. A guidewire extends slidably through the guidewire tube. The sheath can be moved relative to the catheter shaft and the guidewire tube to expose the prostheses for deployment. Methods of delivering stents are also provided.

A deployment apparatus and method for deploying one or more stents to a bifurcated vessel is provided. The invention is particularly suited for T-type bifurcated vessels where a side branch extends from a main branch. The deployment apparatus has a primary inflatable portion for engagement within the main branch and a secondary inflatable portion for engagement within the side branch. A main stent is arranged on the primary inflatable portion and radially expanded within the main branch while the secondary inflatable portion maintains registration with the side branch. A side branch stent is then arranged on the secondary inflatable portion and expanded within the side branch while the primary inflatable portion maintains registration with the expanded main stent. A bifurcated stent system suitable for bifurcated lesions is also provided comprising a side branch stent with a shaped end designed to engage a similarly shaped side opening in a main stent.

Apparatus and methods are described, including a stent configured to be placed in a lumen. The stent includes a generally cylindrical stent body including a plurality of struts, at least one electrode post protruding from the stent body, and a plurality of antenna posts protruding longitudinally from an end of the stent body. The antenna posts are longitudinally separated from the electrode post. An antenna is disposed annularly on the antenna posts, such that the antenna posts separate the antenna from the end of the stent body, and at least one electrode is coupled to the stent by being placed on the electrode post. Additional embodiments are also described.

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 different. For example, the stent may be formed from a tube having varying diameters as it extends distally combined with increased strut density to achieve increased flexibility distally while reducing loss of radial stiffness. 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.

Prostheses and methods of making the same are provided. The prosthesis has an internal branch configuration. A trough or branch opening is at least partially defined by a trough wall extending into a main lumen from a sidewall of the prosthesis. The internal branch extends from the trough within the main lumen towards one of the outflow end of the graft body in a helical, retrograde arrangement. Other arrangements are described. The prosthesis may include a scalloped fenestration having a width larger than the trough. The trough may be positioned along a tapered region of the prosthesis. The trough and internal branch may be made from the same graft material. The trough and internal branch, in addition to the main graft body, may be made from the same graft material.

Side-branch, piercing stents and corresponding methods are provided. The stent body has apically controllably movable leaves that have a closed state and an open state, and at least one of the leaves has an apical piercing tip that is controllably moveable from a contracted state to an extended, piercing state, in which it pierces an apically adjacent element such as a main stent graft, an aneurism or a blood vessel, creates an opening therein, enables insertion of the apical tip of the side -branch stent and allows for spreading the leaves to anchor them within the element and ensure blood flow between the volume of the element and the side branches. Controlling element(s) control the movements of the tip(s) and the leaves to enable controlled and accurate positioning of the side-branch stent, its attachment to the main element and its anchoring therein.

Bioabsorbable scaffolds having high crush recoverability, high fracture resistance, and reduced or no recoil due to self expanding properties at physiological conditions are disclosed. The scaffolds are made from a random copolymer PLLA and a rubbery polymer such as polycaprolactone.