Patent ID: 6929658

Claim:
A stent assembly, comprising: a) an expandable tubular stent body, which is formed of a plurality of ring sections, having at least one connecting support member extending between adjacent ring sections and which has a cover connecting member with at least two penetrating elements integrally formed with said at least one connecting support member; and b) a stent cover which is disposed over at least a portion of said tubular stent body, which is secured to said tubular stent body by said cover connecting member with said at least two penetrating elements extending through said stent cover and extending over an outer surface of said stent cover wherein a first of said at least two penetrating elements extends through said stent cover at a first location of said stent cover adjacent to a first longitudinal oriented edge of said stent cover and wherein a second of said at least two penetrating elements extends through said stent cover at a second longitudinal oriented location of said stent cover adjacent to a second edge of said stent cover.