Thoracic graft having yarn modifications

An endoluminal prosthesis for a curved vessel, comprising:

• a tubular graft defining a lumen between a proximal end and a distal end, the tubular graft comprising a curved proximal section comprising pliable textile strands aligned in a warp direction interwoven with pliable textile strands aligned in a weft direction, and a second section adjacent to and distal of the proximal section comprising textile strands aligned in a warp direction interwoven with textile strands aligned in a weft direction, the pliable textile strands in the warp direction and the weft direction of the proximal section being more pliable than the textile strands in the warp direction and the weft direction of the second section;
• wherein a proximal end of the second section is interwoven with a distal end of the proximal section and wherein the proximal section of the tubular graft has a predetermined curve relative to the second section, wherein the proximal section comprises textile strands aligned in the warp direction and textile strands aligned in the weft direction having a higher rate of shrinkage than the textile strands aligned in the warp direction and the textile strands aligned in the weft direction in the second section, wherein the proximal section of the tubular graft comprises textile strands having a greater elasticity than the textile strands in the second section of the tubular graft, and wherein the predetermined curve is disposed in the graft due to the higher rate of shrinkage of the textile strands aligned in the warp direction and textile strands aligned in the weft direction in the proximal section relative to the textile strands aligned in the warp direction and the textile strands aligned in the weft direction in the second section.

A method of producing a woven graft for an implantable medical device comprising the steps of:

• weaving pliable textile strands of a first biocompatible material aligned in the warp direction and pliable textile strands of the first biocompatible material aligned in the weft direction to produce a woven first section of the graft;
• weaving pliable textile strands of a second biocompatible material aligned in the warp direction and pliable textile strands of the second biocompatible material aligned in the weft direction to produce a woven second section of the graft distal to the first section, where a proximal end of the second biocompatible material is adjacent to a distal end of the first section, where the first section is woven proximal to the second section,
• heat setting the pliable textile strands of the first biocompatible material and the pliable textile strands of the second biocompatible material to form a curve in the woven first section relative to the second section,
• wherein the first section comprises textile strands aligned in the warp direction and textile strands aligned in the weft direction having a higher rate of shrinkage than the textile strands in the second section,
• wherein the first section of the tubular graft comprises textile strands having a greater elasticity than the textile strands in the second section of the tubular graft, wherein the curve is formed in the graft due to the higher rate of shrinkage of the textile strands in the warp direction and textile strands aligned in the weft direction in the first section relative to the textile strands in the second section.