Method of manufacturing a catheter with a flexible tip and taper

The invention relates to the field of intravascular catheters, and more particularly to a method of selectively removing material from a catheter shaft to produce a strong and flexible dilatation catheter shaft. A method of forming a catheter shaft having a flexible section by selective removal of catheter shaft material using laser radiation, and a catheter produced therefrom. The laser radiation is of an ultraviolet wavelength. The catheter shaft is made more flexible without a disadvantageous decrease in column strength by operating the laser in the UV, which allows for machining recess patterns with smooth and repeatable recess surfaces while producing little or no thermal or mechanical effects on the remaining adjacent polymeric material.