A method and apparatus for uncoupling a wire guide (11) from and elongate medicaldevice comprising a catheter shaft (10) having a wire guide lumen extending therethrough, wherein the material surrounding the wire guide lumen is selected oradapted to facilitate splittability for removal of the wire guide. The cathetershaft includes a wire guide port (20) having a stress riser, the stress riser beingconfigured to reduce the force necessary to rupture or split the portion of theshaft wall adjacent to the wire guide port. In a preferred embodiment, the cathetershaft is coextruded and comprises a plurality of materials. The portion of theshaft adjacent the wire guide lumen is formed from a material is selected or adaptedto facilitate splittability as compared to the remaining shaft materials.
