Patent ID: 7963988

Claim:
A vascular graft having a lumen therethrough, the graft comprising: a vessel structure having a first layer of material disposed about the circumference of the vessel structure, a second layer of material disposed about the circumference of the vessel structure, a stent structure within the vessel structure, the vessel structure including a plurality of pleat structures including a first pleat structure, a second pleat structure, and a third pleat structure, the first and third pleat structure formed of one of the first or second layers of material and the second pleat structure formed of the other layer of material, the first, second, and third pleat structures each being in the form of a first turn-back of said same layer of material followed by a second opposing turn-back of said same layer of material, the first layer of material, second layer of material, and stent structure being secured to one another such that relative displacement between the stent structure and the first layer of material and second layer of material is obstructed, wherein the first and third pleat structures are circumferentially offset from one another, and wherein the first, second, and third pleat structures are each oriented helically relative to the longitudinal axis of the vascular graft; the first and third pleat structures having an opposite rotational orientation as compared with the second pleat structure.