A method of forming a stent is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of: shaping a composite wire into a stent pattern； heat treating the composite wire in the stent pattern； providing openings through the outer member to a lumen of the outer member； and processing the composite wire such that the core member is removed from the outer member without adversely affecting the outer member. The composite wire comprises a core member and an outer member. The outer member is a nitinol material and the core member is a material having sufficient stiffness to hold the nitinol outer member in the stent pattern prior to a heat treatment step.
