EXPANDABLE SUPPORTIVE BRANCHED ENDOLUMINAL GRAFTS
A method of manufacturing an endoluminal graft which is both expandable and supportive is provided in a form suitable for use in a branched body vessel location. The graft expands between a first diameter and a second, larger diameter. The support component is an expandable stent endoprosthesis. A liner is applied to the endoprosthesis in the form of a compliant wall material that is porous and biocompatible in order to allow normal cellular invasion upon implantation, without stenosis, when the expandable and supportive graft is at its second diameter. The supportive endoluminal graft is preferably provided as a plurality of components that are deployed separately at the branching body vessel location, one of which has a longitudinal seam defining leg portions within which the other components fit in a telescoping manner.
1 - 35 . (canceled)
36 . A multi-component branching expandable supportive endoluminal graft comprising:
a plurality of expandable supportive endoluminal components adapted to be individually deployed at a selected location within a body vessel, each said supportive endoluminal graft component being radially compressible for endoluminal insertion and radially expandable for deployment at a desired location within a body vessel;
one of said expandable supportive endoluminal components is a trunk component, said trunk component being generally tubular and having a first trunk portion with a given diameter and a second trunk portion including two diametrically opposed, longitudinally disposed, indents generally defining two parallel, supportive lumens, each with a diameter less than said given diameter;
a trunk liner disposed within said trunk component, said trunk liner having a generally cylindrical body portion and two leg liner portions, each said leg liner portion defining a leg opening, wherein each of said leg liner portions is disposed within respective parallel, supportive lumens of said trunk component, and the generally cylindrical body portion of said liner is disposed within a non-indented portion of said generally cylindrical trunk component; and
at least one other of said expandable supportive endoluminal components is a supportive leg component;
wherein an end portion of said supportive leg component, when said supportive leg component and said trunk component are deployed within the body vessel, is positioned within a leg opening of said liner.
37 . The supportive endoluminal graft of claim 36 , wherein said end portion of said supportive leg component, when deployed, is telescopically positioned within one of said parallel supportive lumens of the trunk component.
38 . The supportive endoluminal graft of claim 36 or claim 37 , wherein said plurality of expandable supportive endoluminal components are self-expanding.
39 . The supportive endoluminal graft of claim 36 or 37 , wherein said liner portions are attached to one another along a line between said diametrically opposed indents.
40 - 42 . (canceled)