Importance

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Abstract

An apparatus and method for deploying one or more stents within a body lumen comprises a substantially tubular sheath configured for slidable movement over a catheter shaft and configured to receive a stent over a flexible, expandable distal portion of the sheath. The sheath may comprise a part of a stent deployment system including a dilatation catheter (such as a balloon catheter), and one or more substantially tubular stents positioned in their delivery configurations over the expandable distal portion of the sheath. The sheath preferably has a proximal portion that is configured so that a user may advance the sheath over the catheter by maneuvering the sheath proximal end. The substantially tubular stent is preferably a radially expandable stent having a delivery configuration and a deployed configuration. When the apparatus is introduced into a body lumen, the sheath is positioned on the catheter shaft such that the sheath distal portion bearing the stent is proximal of the catheter expandable member (e.g., balloon). Thus, the catheter expandable member may be used to dilate the body lumen without deploying the stent. After dilatation is completed, the sheath is advanced until the stent is positioned around the expandable member which is then expanded, thereby radially expanding and deploying the stent or stents.

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First Claim