An endoluminal device, such as a
stent or a
vena cava filter, comprising at least one superelastic section and at least one plastically deformable section. The superelastic section may comprise, for example, a superelastic grade of nitinol, whereas the plastically deformable section may comprise, for example, gold,
platinum,
tantalum,
titanium, stainless steel,
tungsten, a
nickel alloy, a
cobalt ally, a
titanium alloy, or a combination thereof. Each plastically deformable section may merely comprise a constrained portion of the superelastic section comprising a plastically deformable material, such as gold. The device enables deployment by a method comprising introducing the device into a body lumen with the device radially constrained in a first configuration having a first
diameter; allowing the device to self-expand into a second configuration having a second
diameter less than or equal to a fully-self-expanded
diameter; and then optionally “fine-tuning” the device by forcibly expanding the device into a third configuration having a third diameter in a range between the second diameter and less than or equal to a fully-forcibly-expanded diameter. The superelastic and plastically deformable sections may be tubular sections placed end-to-end, such that the plastically deformable section can be conformed to fit a tapered section of a lumen.