Self-expanding prosthesis having stable axial length

A device for fixation in a body cavity, comprising:

• a stent including a plurality of generally tubular and coaxial open weave stent segments, serially arranged, with adjacent stent segments slidably engaged and overlapping one another to form a plurality of intermediate overlapping regions between proximal and distal ends of said stent;
• said stent segments having a predetermined first diameter and a predetermined first axial length, said stent segments further being radially compressible to a second diameter less than the first diameter and to a second axial length longer than the first axial length, to facilitate an axial insertion of said stent into a body cavity for delivery to a selected location therealong and subsequent fixation of the stent within the cavity by effecting an engagement of the stent segments with a tissue wall segment defining said body cavity;
• and
• wherein said stent segments slide relative to one another along said intermediate overlapping regions to reduce the axial length of said intermediate regions as the stent segments radially expand into said engagement, thus to maintain a substantially constant axial length of the stent during said radial expansion.

A process for fixing a prosthesis within a body cavity, comprising the steps of:

• slidably interconnecting a plurality of open weave stent segments to form a stent having at least one intermediate region of overlapping adjacent stent segments between proximal and distal ends of said stent;
• radially compressing the stent segments into a predetermined first diameter and first axial length, axially inserting the stent into a body cavity, and delivering the stent to a selected location along the body cavity;
• and
• with said stent at said selected location, radially expanding and axially contracting the stent segments until the stent segments engage a tissue wall segment defining the body cavity to fix the stent within the body cavity, while maintaining the distance between said proximal and distal ends substantially constant.