Patent ID: 7413574

Claim:
A method for treating a body lumen with a drug-delivery stent assembly, comprising: providing a pattern of struts interconnected to form a stent structure that contacts the wall of a body lumen to maintain the patency of the lumen; attaching a stent cover having a delivery sheath fabricated from a mesh to at least a portion of an outside surface area of the stent structure to form the stent assembly; loading the delivery sheath with at least one therapeutic agent for the release thereof in the body lumen; intraluminally delivering the stent assembly in the body lumen; providing a radially outward directed force to the stent cover; and plastically deforming at least a portion of the stent cover in response to the radially outward directed force so that the deformed portions neck down or break thereby providing less resistance to expansion of the stent assembly, wherein the stent cover is attached to the stent structure at a stent structure distal end and a stent structure proximal end so that the stent cover is free to stretch in a mid-cover section as the stent expands.