A deployment sheath (20) for medical devices (38) is provided that includesone or more pleats (34) in its pre-deploymentstate that are allowed to open during deployment so as to facilitate easierdevice deployment and sheath removal. Preferably,the sheath is removed by everting it over itself during the delivery process.By orienting the pleats along the length of the sheath,preferably helically around the sheath, the sheath undergoes a predictableenlargement during deployment so as to relieve frictionof the everted sheath sliding along itself during deployment. This allows thesheath to be removed with less tension than previouseverting sheath constructions and assures more accurate device placement in apatient.
