Stent delivery system and method of manufacturing same. The stent delivery system comprises an inner catheter with an enlarged tip disposed at the distal end thereof. A stent engaging sleeve coaxially surrounds and is secured to a portion of the inner catheter proximally contiguous to the tip. The stent engaging sleeve is used to frictionally engage a stent mounted thereover in such a way as to prevent the stent, during deployment, from sliding proximally relative to the inner catheter. The system additionally comprises a self-expandable stent of the type comprising a knitted mesh of nitinol wire flexible in both the radial and longitudinal axes. The stent is mounted over the stent engaging sleeve in a longitudinally stretched state. The system also includes an outer catheter surrounding the stent and stent engaging sleeve, the outer catheter being adapted for axial movement relative to the inner catheter.
