A stent (scaffold) or other luminal prosthesis comprising circumferential structural elements which provides high strength after deployment and allows for scaffold to uncage, and/or allow for scaffold or luminal expansion thereafter. The circumferential scaffold may be formed from degradable material, or may be formed from non-degradable material and will be modified to expand and/or uncage after deployment.

A prosthetic heart valve includes a valve frame defining an aperture that extends along a central axis and a flow control component mounted within the aperture. The valve frame includes a distal anchoring element and a proximal anchoring element. The valve frame has a compressed configuration to allow the prosthetic heart valve to be delivered to a heart of a patient via a delivery catheter. The valve frame is configured to transition to an expanded configuration when released from the delivery catheter. The prosthetic heart valve is configured to be seated in a native annulus when the valve frame is in the expanded configuration. The distal and proximal anchoring elements configured to be inserted through the native annulus prior to seating the prosthetic heart valve. The proximal anchoring element is ready to be deployed subannularly or is optionally configured to be transitioned from a first configuration to a second configuration after the prosthetic valve is seated.

Systems, apparatus and methods are disclosed for medical treatment comprising bone access and dilatation and/or cavity creation or enlargement using a narrow gauge, preferably 11-gauge or smaller, cannula wherein a catheter/expandable element assembly meeting medical protocols for such procedures is designed, adapted and fabricated to fit through the interior of the associated 11-gauge or smaller cannula, and further including apparatus and methods for wrapping and/or folding the expandable element either before or after a procedure to reduce its profile to fit through the cannula.

The invention relates to devices that are stabilized at an intraluminal residence site in the gastrointestinal tract by their conformation, including dimensions of length and curvature. The device as a whole corresponds to the conformation of the residence site; more particularly, the curved or angled portions correspond to the curved or angled portions of the residence site and do not conform to an immediately proximal or distal site. In some embodiments, the conformationally stabilized device may effect a change in the residence site shape that contributes to stability of the device. Some embodiments are directed toward curbing appetite and/or reducing food intake, other embodiments may be directed toward other therapeutic ends. Some embodiments of the device are designed to reside wholly in the duodenum; others reside principally within the duodenum but extend proximally into the gastric antrum, while other embodiments are designed to reside elsewhere within the gastrointestinal tract.

Systems and methods for neuromodulation of a female patient suffering from a pelvic condition, such as incontinence, are disclosed. A mechanical stimulus such as pressure, tension, traction, friction, or vibration for example can be applied to one, two, or more clitoral structures sufficient to cause a physiologic stimulus or inhibition, such as neuromodulation to treat or prevent the pelvic condition.

A prosthetic heart valve configured to replace a native heart valve and having a support frame configured to be reshaped into an expanded form in order to receive and/or support an expandable prosthetic heart valve therein is disclosed, together with methods of using same. The prosthetic heart valve may be configured to have a generally rigid and/or expansion-resistant configuration when initially implanted to replace a native valve (or other prosthetic heart valve), but to assume a generally expanded form when subjected to an outward force such as that provided by a dilation balloon or other mechanical expander.

A collapsible-expandable tubular stent (29) constructed of shape-memory material which is implantable into a human heart, which comprises proximal and distal rings (71, 73) and at least two spaced apart posts (69) that extend axially between said rings (71, 73), said distal ring (73) comprising a plurality of distal arms (77) which are connected to the distal ring (73) at only one end and which have a free opposite end; said proximal ring (71) comprising a plurality of, which are connected at only one end to the proximal ring (71) and which have a free opposite end, which proximal arms (75) are constructed to swing radially outward at their free ends.

A spacer for creating a docking station for a transcatheter heart valve is provided. The spacer changes an effective diameter and/or a shape of an implanted bioprosthetic structure such as a bioprosthetic heart valve or annuloplasty ring, providing a supporting structure into which the transcatheter valve expands without over expanding. The spacer may be deployed through an interventional technique either through transseptal access, transfemoral access, or transapical access and is typically deployed at least in part on an inflow portion of the implanted bioprosthetic structure.

Endoluminal prosthetic devices having fluid-absorbable compositions for repair of vascular tissue defects, such as an aneurysm or dissection, are disclosed herein. A prosthesis for repairing an opening or cavity within a target vessel region configured in accordance herewith includes a tubular body sized to substantially cover the opening or cavity, and having channels formed in a wall thereof. The channels can include a fluid-absorbable composition deposited therein and which is configured to absorb fluid (e.g., blood) and swell within the channels, thereby providing radial expansion of the tubular body in situ.

A radially expandable, tubular stent, includes a first section having a first crush resistance force and a second section have a second crush resistance force, wherein the first crush resistance force is less than the second crush resistance force. The first section is connected to the second section to form a tube, connection of the first and second sections extending in an axial direction of the tube.