Patent ID: 8721667

Claim:
A method of dilating a stenosed region in a blood vessel, the method comprising: introducing an external structure having a distal end and a proximal end carried over an expandable shell, wherein the external structure is unattached to the shell, the distal end is fixedly attached to a catheter body, and the proximal end is connected to the catheter body by an attachment structure; and expanding the expandable shell to dilate external structure within the stenosed region within the blood vessel, wherein the proximal end of the external structure moves distally and the attachment structure axially lengthens to accommodate such distal movement of the external structure as the shell is expanded, wherein the attachment structure comprises a compliance tube having one or more perforations to enhance compliance; wherein the inner diameter of the compliance tube is larger than an outer diameter of the catheter body so that the compliance tube freely lengthens and rotates with respect to the catheter body as the external structure foreshortens.