Method of making a medical device having a thin wall tubular membrane over a structural frame

A method of placing a tubular structure about a radially contractible and expandable structural frame, the method comprising the steps of:

• providing a porous polymeric tube having a first diameter and a first wall thickness;
• radially contracting the structural frame;
• placing the radially contracted structural frame at least partially into the porous polymeric tube;
• expanding the structural frame to expand at least a part of the porous polymeric tube to a second diameter, the second diameter of the porous polymeric tube being greater than the first diameter;
• and
• coating at least a portion of the expanded porous polymeric tube and the expanded structural frame, thereby mechanically attaching the expanded porous polymeric tube to the expanded structural frame.

A medical device having a tubular membrane structure comprising:

• a radially expandable and collapsible structural frame;
• a thin wall membrane positioned over the radially expandable and collapsible structural frame, the membrane formed at least in part by radially expanding a polymeric tube with the structural frame;
• and
• a coating over the thin wall membrane, the coating and thin wall membrane forming the tubular membrane structure, and wherein the coating mechanically attaches the thin wall membrane to the structural frame.