Patent ID: 8480725

Claim:
An introducer for deploying a stent graft in a curved lumen, the introducer including: a carrier for a stent graft; a withdrawable sheath for retaining a stent graft in a compressed condition; a release mechanism including a constraining mechanism, wherein the constraining mechanism includes at least one release wire; a substantially cylindrical stent graft, including a plurality of stents, mounted on the carrier, the stent graft including at least one wire-receiver co-operating with the at least one release wire of the release mechanism, wherein the at least one wire-receiver and the at least one release wire radially constrain at least a portion of at least one constrainable stent of the plurality of stents of the stent graft to form a constrained stent portion of a constrained stent that is radially constrained substantially entirely therearound, wherein at least an adjacent portion of an adjacent stent of the plurality of stents of the stent graft is not radially constrained by the at least one release wire and forms an expanded portion of the stent graft when not compressed by the sheath whilst the constrained stent portion is simultaneously maintained in its radially constrained configuration by the at least one wire-receiver and the at least one release wire, wherein at least the most proximal stent of the stent graft and at least the most distal stent of the stent graft are not constrained by the at least one wire-receiver and the at least one release wire while the constrained stent portion is maintained in its radially constrained configuration; the at least one release wire and the at least one wire-receiver together being releasable to enable the constrained stent portion to expand so as to overlap with the interior of the adjacent portion of the adjacent stent in an the expanded portion of the stent graft, thereby to enable the stent graft to be deployed in a curved lumen without the need to match the curve of the stent graft to the lumen either prior to, or during deployment.