Patent ID: 7776080

Claim:
A method of implanting a self-expanding stent, with embolic protection, in a patients' body lumen, comprising: a) introducing within a patient's body lumen a self-expanding stent delivery catheter system having a proximal end, a distal end, an elongated shaft outer member with a lumen extending therein and a stent sheath distal portion, a self-expanding stent radially restrained in a collapsed configuration within the stent sheath distal portion of the shaft outer member, and a balloon catheter dimensioned for relative axial movement within the shaft outer member, the balloon catheter having an elongated shaft with an inflation lumen and a device receiving lumen and a balloon on a distal shaft section with an interior in fluid communication with the inflation lumen such that the balloon is inflatable from a noninflated to an inflated configuration, and advancing the catheter system within the body lumen on a core wire of embolic protection device, with the balloon catheter releasably locked with respect to the shaft outer member in a locked configuration such that the collapsed stent in the stent sheath is coaxially disposed around the noninflated balloon with an inner surface of the stent radially spaced from the outer surface of the noninflated balloon; b) unlocking and proximally retracting the stent sheath from the collapsed stent and noninflated balloon therein, so that the collapsed stent radially self-expands at a location in the body lumen proximal to an operative distal end of the embolic protection device; c) inflating the balloon in the radially self-expanded stent, to implant the stent in a fully radially expanded configuration; d) deflating the balloon, and recovering the embolic protection device by distally advancing the catheter system distally from implanted stent to position the operative distal end of the embolic protection device therein and thereby radially collapse the operative distal end of the embolic protection device; and e) slidably displacing the catheter system with the outer member releasably locked to the balloon catheter and with the collapsed embolic protection device therein, for repositioning or removal from the patient's body lumen; and (e) a stent stop is fixedly secured to the balloon catheter and is reversibly radially expandable, and including deploying the stent stop from a collapsed to a radially expanded configuration after a) and before b) such that longitudinal displacement of the stent within the outer member proximally of the stent stop is prevented by the stent stop.