Process for making stent graft with braided polymeric sleeve

A process for making a medical device, including:

• providing a tubular stent comprised of a plurality of structural strands and adjustable between a nominal state and a radially-reduced axially-elongated state according to a first relationship of radial reduction vs. axial elongation;
• winding a plurality of complaint and thermally formable textile strands, to form a tubular sleeve having substantially the same size and shape as the stent in its nominal statem and heating the sleeve to a heat forming temperature sufficient to thermally impart said size and shape to the sleeveas the nominal size and shape of the sleeve when in a nominal state, wherein the sleeve is adjustable between said nominal state and a radially-reduced axially-elongated state according to a second relationship of radial reduction vs. axial elongation substantially equivalent to said first relationship, and provides a graft;
• disposing a selected one of the stent and the sleeve within and in an axial alignment with the other of the stent and sleeve, so that said other surrounds the selected one, then bringing the stent and sleeve into an engagement;
• and
• while maintaining the stent and sleeve in said engagement, binding the latticework and the sleeve together.

A process for making a medical device, including:

• braiding a tubular stent of open construction including a plurality of structural strands forming multiple first intersections and defining a first braid angle with the tubular stent in a nominal state, wherein the structural strands along the length of the tubular stent are free of bonding to one another at the first intersections, the tubular stent being adjustable between the nominal state and a radially-reduced axially-elongated state according to a first relationship of radial reduction versus axial elongation;
• braiding a compliant tubular sleeve including a plurality of compliant textile strands forming multiple second intersections and defining a second braid angle substantially the same as said first braid angle with the tubular sleeve in a nominal state, wherein the textile strands along the length of the tubular sleeve are free of bonding to one another at the second intersections, the tubular sleeve being adjustable between said nominal state and a radially-reduced axially elongated state according to a second relationship of radial reduction versus axial elongation substantially equivalent to said first relationship;
• and
• attaching a selected one of the stent and the sleeve within and in an axial alignment with the other of said stent and sleeve so that said other surrounds the selected one.

A process for making a medical device, including:

• providing a tubular stent adjustable between a nominal state and a radially-reduced axially-elongated state according to a first relationship of radial reduction versus axial elongation;
• forming a compliant tubular sleeve of a thermally formable material having substantially the same shape and diameter as the stent in its nominal state, heating the tubular sleeve while it is maintained in said shape and diameter to a heat forming temperature sufficient to thermally impart said shape and diameter to the sleeve when the sleeve is in a nominal state, wherein the sleeve is adjustable between said nominal state and a radially-reduced axially-elongated state according to a second relationship of radial reduction versus axial elongation substantially equivalent to said first relationship, and provides a graft;
• disposing a selected one of the stent and the compliant sleeve within and in an axial alignment with the other of the stent and sleeve, so that said other surrounds the selected one, then bringing the stent and sleeve into an engagement;
• and
• while maintaining the stent and compliant sleeve in said engagement, binding the stent and sleeve together.