Endoluminal prostheses and therapies for highly variable body lumens

An endoluminal prosthesis comprising:

• a plastically expansible tubular liner having a lumen which defines an axis;
• and
• a helical coil supporting the liner, the coil defining a plurality of loops, wherein the loops are separated to enhance axial flexibility of the prosthesis, and wherein the helical coil elongates during plastic expansion of the liner to avoid unwinding of the coil relative to the liner.

An endoluminal prosthesis for use in a bent body lumen, the prosthesis comprising a radially expandable tubular frame defining an axis, the frame including a plurality of resiliently expandable loops and a plurality of plastically deformable connector elements extending between adjacent loops which allow the axis to plastically conform to the body lumen.

A bifurcated endoluminal prosthesis for use within a branching body lumen system having a trunk lumen and first and second branch lumens, the trunk lumen having a larger cross-section than the branch lumens, the trunk and branch lumens in fluid communication at a lumenal intersection, the prosthesis comprising:

• a hub module which is deployable within the body lumen system adjacent the lumenal intersection;
• and
• a tubular trunk module having a first port which sealingly engages the hub module when radially expanded therein, an end opposing the first port which seals radially against the surrounding trunk lumen opposite the hub module, and a trunk lumen therebetween.

A bifurcated endoluminal prosthesis for use within a branching body lumen system having a trunk lumen and first and second branch lumens, the trunk lumen having a larger cross-section than the branch lumens, the trunk and branch lumens in fluid communication at a lumenal intersection, the prosthesis comprising:

• a branch module having a first branch end which is deployable within the first branch of the body lumen system, a second branch end which is extendable from the first branch end across the lumenal intersection to the second branch of the body lumen system, a prosthetic branch lumen therebetween, and a trunk port between the first and second branch ends;
• and
• a tubular trunk module having a first end which is sealingly engageable to the branch module, a second end opposing the first end which seals radially against the surrounding trunk lumen of the body lumen system, and a prosthetic trunk lumen therebetween.

A bifurcated endoluminal prosthesis for use within a branching body lumen system having a trunk lumen and first and second branch lumens, the trunk lumen having a larger cross-section than the branch lumens, the trunk and branch lumens in fluid communication at a lumenal intersection, the prosthesis comprising:

• a primary module which is deployable within the body lumen system adjacent the lumenal intersection;
• and
• a tubular trunk module having a first port which is supported at least in part by the deployed primary module when radially expanded therein, an end opposing the first port which seals radially against the surrounding trunk lumen opposite the primary module, and a trunk lumen therebetween.

A bifurcated endoluminal prosthesis comprising:

• a radially expandable trunk portion having a trunk lumen and a branch end;
• radially expandable first and second branch portions extending from the branch end of the trunk portion, the branch portions having first and second branch lumens, the first and second branch lumens being in fluid communication with the trunk lumen of the trunk portion;
• wherein at least one of the branch portions is compressible within the trunk portion, and wherein the at least one branch portion is extendable from the expanded trunk portion in situ.

A method for deploying an endoluminal prosthesis in a branching body lumen system which includes a trunk lumen and first and second branch lumens, the trunk lumen and branch lumens in fluid communication at a lumenal intersection, the trunk lumen being larger in cross-section than the first and second branch lumens, the method comprising:

• deploying a primary module within the body lumen system adjacent the lumenal intersection so that a trunk port of the primary module extends along the trunk lumen;
• and
• expanding a trunk module within the trunk lumen while an end of the trunk module is within the trunk port of the primary module so that the primary module engages and supports the trunk module from adjacent the lumenal intersection.

A sealing structure for sealing an end of a tubular endoluminal prosthesis against a surrounding lumen, that sealing structure comprising a plurality of flexible sealing flaps extending from the prosthesis adjacent the end, the sealing flaps resiliently flaring radially outward to independently seal against the surrounding lumen.

An endoluminal prosthesis comprising:

• a tubular liner;
• and
• a frame supporting the tubular liner, the frame defining a plurality of loops having axially oriented apices, wherein at least some of the adjacent apices of adjacent loops are offset to enhance axial flexibility of the prosthesis.