Patent ID: 7901452

Claim:
A method of fabricating a stent, the method comprising: radially expanding a bioabsorbable polymer tube such that a majority of a luminal surface of the expanded tube is substantially smooth and a majority of an abluminal surface of the expanded tube is rougher than the luminal surface of the expanded tube; the rougher abluminal surface being formed by selection of process parameters capable of producing the rougher abluminal surface, including using a heating nozzle, heating the tube from about 180° F. to 300° F., using a nozzle speed of about 0.1 mm/sec to 3.0 mm/sec, and using a gas for said radial expansion of the bioabsorbable polymer tube at a gas pressure of about 100 psi to 300 psi; and laser cutting a stent pattern into the expanded tube to fabricate a stent.