Stent valve and stent graft for percutaneous surgery

摘要

A star-shaped stent and replacement valve or replacement graft for use in repairing a damaged cardiac valve includes two to eight star-shaped members interconnected into a "chain". Once this "chain" has been created through interconnection of the star-shaped members, a central opening through all of the interconnected star-shaped members receives a replacement aortic valve tri-cuspid made of any suitable flexible and bio-compatible material. A catheter delivery system is used to deliver the stent with the aortic valve tri-cuspid to the desired site. The star-shaped stents are made by using a laser to cut out a plurality of flat star-shaped members with a plurality of outwardly and inwardly directed points. The outwardly directed points are bent so that they face away from a plane defined by the inwardly directed points and then a series of such stents are fastened together in a chain.