摘要 |
<p>A stent assembly (10) for placement in a body lumen (12) acting to retain the body lumen (12) in an open position. The stent assembly (10) includes a cylindrical shell (14) and a plurality of circular coils (16) embedded within the cylindrical shell (14). The stent assembly (14) is changeable between a first unexpanded state for placement within the body lumen (12) and a second expanded state for holding the body lumen (12) open once positioned therein. The cylindrical shell (14) is made of expandable PTFE material and the plurality of coils (16) are formed of cut rings, the cuts in each coil being staggered about the 360 degree radius of the cylindrical shell (14) providing full support for the cylindrical shell (14) throughout its circumference. The cylindrical shell (14) may also include ridges (24) extending from an outer wall (30) thereof for engaging the inner wall (28) and holding the stent assembly (10) in place. This stent assembly (10) is particularly useful as a venous stent due to its physical characteristics.</p> |