Intracranial stent and method of use

1. A method of treating a diseased blood vessel of the brain of a patient, said method comprising:

percutaneously inserting a self-expanding stent into a carotid artery of the patient and navigating the stent mounted on a delivery catheter through the carotid artery and into the blood vessel of the brain, the blood vessel having an aneurysm, wherein the stent comprises two overlapping edges that extend along a longitudinal axis of the stent;

ejecting the stent from the delivery catheter into the blood vessel;

inserting a treatment device through a wall of the stent and into the aneurysm, thereby treating the aneurysm;

withdrawing the stent, at least partially, into the delivery catheter; and

removing the delivery catheter and removing the stent.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the blood vessel is one of the maxillary artery, a middle meningeal artery, a frontal superficial temporal artery, a parietal superficial temporal artery, the vertebral artery, a basilar artery, a cerebral artery including a posterior cerebral artery, the circle of Willis, the anterior cerebral artery, the middle cerebral artery, the posterior communicating artery, and the anterior communicating artery.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the stent comprises a rolled-sheet stent.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the withdrawing of the stent into the delivery catheter comprises repositioning the stent.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the treatment device comprises at least one aneurysm coil.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the removing of the stent occurs during the same interventional procedure during which the ejecting occurs.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the stent is perforate.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the stent is imperforate.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the inserting of the treatment device is through a second catheter.

10. A method of treating an aneurysm in a blood vessel in the brain of a patient, said method comprising:

percutaneously inserting a self-expanding stent into a carotid artery of the patient and navigating the stent mounted on a first catheter through the carotid artery and into the blood vessel of the brain, wherein the stent comprises two overlapping edges that extend along a longitudinal axis of the stent;

ejecting the stent from the first catheter into the blood vessel;

inserting a treatment device through a wall of the stent and into the aneurysm via a second catheter, thereby treating the aneurysm;

withdrawing the stent, at least partially, into the first catheter; and

after the withdrawing, removing the stent from the patient.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the blood vessel is one of the maxillary artery, a middle meningeal artery, a frontal superficial temporal artery, a parietal superficial temporal artery, the vertebral artery, a basilar artery, a cerebral artery including a posterior cerebral artery, the circle of Willis, the anterior cerebral artery, the middle cerebral artery, the posterior communicating artery, and the anterior communicating artery.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the stent comprises a rolled sheet stent.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the removing of the stent occurs during the same interventional procedure during which the ejecting occurs.

14. The method of claim 10 , wherein the withdrawing of the stent comprises repositioning the stent.

15. The method of claim 10 , wherein the treatment device comprises at least one aneurysm coil.

16. The method of claim 10 , wherein the stent is perforate.

17. The method of claim 10 , wherein the stent is imperforate.

18. A method of treating a diseased blood vessel in the brain of a patient, said method comprising:

percutaneously inserting a self-expanding stent, comprising two overlapping edges that extend along a longitudinal axis of the stent, into a carotid artery of the patient and navigating the stent mounted on a delivery catheter through the carotid artery and into the blood vessel of the brain, the blood vessel having an aneurysm;

temporarily deploying the stent from the delivery catheter into the blood vessel of the brain;

thereafter treating the diseased blood vessel by inserting at least one aneurysm coil through a wall of the stent and into the aneurysm; and

thereafter withdrawing the stent into the delivery catheter and removing the stent and delivery catheter from the blood vessel.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the blood vessel is one of the maxillary artery, a middle meningeal artery, a frontal superficial temporal artery, a parietal superficial temporal artery, the vertebral artery, a basilar artery, a cerebral artery including a posterior cerebral artery, the circle of Willis, the anterior cerebral artery, the middle cerebral artery, the posterior communicating artery, and the anterior communicating artery.

20. The method of claim 18 , wherein the stent comprises a rolled-sheet stent.

21. The method of claim 18 , wherein the removing of the stent occurs during the same interventional procedure during which the deploying occurs.

22. The method of claim 18 , wherein the stent is perforate.

23. The method of claim 18 , wherein the stent is imperforate.

24. The method of claim 18 , wherein the inserting of the at least one aneurysm coil is through a second catheter.