Apparatus and methods for protected angioplasty and stenting at a carotid bifurcation

A catheter system for stenting and angioplasty, comprising:

• a stent delivery sheath having a proximal end and a distal end and an internal lumen;
• a self-expanding stent having an unexpanded condition and an expanded condition;
• and a combination angioplasty and stent pusher catheter having a catheter shaft with an expandable member mounted near a distal end of said catheter shaft;
• wherein said catheter system has an undeployed configuration in which said self-expanding stent is in said unexpanded condition and is positioned within a distal portion of said internal lumen of said stent delivery sheath, and said combination angioplasty and stent pusher catheter is positioned within said internal lumen of said stent delivery sheath proximal to said self-expanding stent, whereby said combination angioplasty and stent pusher catheter can be used to deploy said self-expanding stent by retracting said stent delivery sheath while maintaining said combination angioplasty and stent pusher catheter to release said self-expanding stent out of said distal end of said stent delivery sheath thereby allowing said self-expanding stent to expand to said expanded condition, and subsequently advancing said combination angioplasty and stent pusher catheter distally until said expandable member is located within said self-expanding stent and expanding said expandable member to further expand said self-expanding stent.