Patent ID: 7641683

Claim:
A stent-graft comprising: a tubular graft having a peripheral wall defining a periphery and a lumen therein, the lumen extending axially between first and second ends of the tubular graft; a flexible exo-skeleton bonded to at least a portion of an interior surface of the peripheral wall, the exo-skeleton comprising two or more serpentine elements, each serpentine element comprising a zigzag structure extending substantially peripherally about the peripheral wall of the tubular graft, each serpentine element further comprising a straight element and a curved element, wherein said serpentine elements are connected to form said flexible exo-skeleton extending both peripherally and axially along at least a portion of the peripheral wall, each serpentine element being individually bonded to the peripheral wall and wherein said straight element is angularly offset relative to the longitudinal axis of the lumen; and a stent on the first end for substantially anchoring the first end within a body passage.