Patent attributes
Methods and devices are disclosed for supporting and holding open a tubular structure in the body of an animal or human. In one form, the device is a manually adjustable variable outside diameter stent that can be repositioned or removed. The stent includes an elastic tubular body and an adjustment mechanism for the moving two ends of the body toward or away from each other. The elastic tubular body comprises a braiding of two groups of spaced apart helically wound elastic strands. The adjustment mechanism includes a bracket, a tension adjustor, and a tensioning wire attached to the bracket and the tension adjuster. The bracket and the tension adjuster are attached to one or more of the elastic strands of the two groups. Using the adjustment mechanism, the distance between the bracket and the tension adjustor can be decreased causing the outside diameter of the body to increase, or vice versa.
