Patent ID: 8764813

Claim:
A self-expanding stent, comprising: a stent structure comprising a first plurality of stent cells, each of said first plurality of stent cells comprising first and second bends, said first and second bends facing each other and being longitudinally spaced apart, a plurality of structural members interconnecting said first and second bends, wherein each structural member has a length, wherein each of said first plurality of stent cells is defined by said first and second bends and said lengths of said plurality of structural members, wherein said stent cells have a compressed configuration and an expanded configuration; and a biodegradable restraining material attached to said first plurality of stent cells along the entire length of said structural members in said compressed configuration, said restraining material extending across an entirety of an area defined by said first and second bends and said plurality of structural members of each of said first plurality of stent cells, said restraining material thereby extending longitudinally across each of said areas between said first and second bends and circumferentially across each of said areas between said plurality of structural members disposed adjacent each other, whereby said restraining material initially restrains said first plurality of stent cells in said compressed configuration, and wherein as said restraining material biodegrades over time throughout each of said areas, said restraining material releases said plurality of structural members of said first plurality of stent cells over time, thereby allowing said first plurality of stent cells to assume said expanded configuration.