Patent ID: 8057531

Claim:
A method of treating a bodily lumen with a stent, the method comprising: disposing a stent within a bodily lumen, wherein the polymer stent comprises a plurality of circumferential rings composed of circumferentially aligned struts connected at the connection regions, wherein the connection region is diamond-shaped the circumferential rings connected by linking struts that connect adjacent rings at connection regions on the adjacent rings, wherein each ring has at least one deformable strut of the circumferentially aligned struts that has a region of reduced cross-section formed by a notch in a portion of the deformable strut between two connection regions, wherein the notched portion formed in the at least one deformable strut is for inducing necking in the deformable strut wherein the deformable struts are configured to selectively deform in a circumferential direction in localized regions in the deformable struts upon application of an outward radial force; and expanding the stent by applying the outward radial force, wherein the outward radial force causes selective deformation comprising necking in a circumferential direction of the deformable struts in the localized region in the struts, wherein the selective deformation is initiated at the reduced cross-section region, wherein the reduced cross-section region guides the necking in the circumferential direction.