A method for treating OAB in a female patient includes positioning a visualization scope in the patent's vagina; advancing a guide wire through a working channel of a visualization scope, until a tissue penetrating distal tip of the guide wire advances out of the working channel and penetrates a wall of the superior portion of the vagina; continuing to advance the guidewire tip submucosally through the wall of the vagina, until it is positioned within tissue of the bladder trigone; advancing a balloon dilation catheter over the guidewire until a balloon carried on a distal end portion of the balloon dilation catheter is positioned proximate the distal tip of the guidewire within the bladder trigone tissue; and inflating said balloon to form a first dissection plane between separated layers of tissue within the bladder trigone.

An apparatus for use in tissue removal from a body organ is presented. The apparatus comprises a hand-held probe device, a rotating motor device and a connection assembly configured for removably interconnecting between the hand-held probe device and the rotating motor device. The hand-held probe device is disposable and comprises a housing having proximal and distal ends, a rotatable cutting tool extending distally from the distal end of the housing and being configured for cutting and removing tissue during rotation, and a transmission assembly passing inside the housing between the proximal and distal ends and being configured for transmitting rotational power to the rotatable cutting tool. The connection assembly is configured for engaging between the rotating motor device and the transmission assembly to thereby controllably rotate the cutting tool and remove tissue. In some embodiments, the apparatus includes a control unit for controlling operation of the apparatus, the control unit comprises an activation mechanism for activating the rotatable cutting tool, and a controller configured for operating the activation mechanism to generate a single fixed activation signal of a known intensity and duration during a predetermined time interval, thereby restricting operation of the cutting tool during the time interval to the single activation signal only.

A minimally invasive hip arthroplasty technique involves intramedullary insertion of an elongate femoral broach into a femur. The broach has a superior lateromedial transverse bore. A reaming rod is then located through the transverse bore and the neck of the femur. A cutting head is coupled to a distal end of the reaming rod via an incision. An orthogonal drive arm of an arthroplasty jig may also be inserted behind the cutting head to press the cutting head to ream the acetabulum while the reaming rod rotates the cutting head.

A surgical instrument configured for both grasping and cutting operations has a shaft with a push rod extending through it. An end effector on the shaft has a grasping jaw, a cutting jaw, and an intermediate jaw. The grasping jaw forms a grasping device with the intermediate jaw, and the cutting jaw forming a cutting device with the intermediate member. A segment of the shaft proximal to the end effector is axially rotatable between a first position, in which the push rod can advance through the segment to actuate the cutting device, and a second position in which the push rod can advance through the segment to actuate the grasping device.

Clamping forceps device includes two clamps in pivotal connection to one another and each having an operator end for being operated by a health care provider. The device also includes an extension extending aft of the operator end of each clamp, the extension forming a space therebetween sized to form a disconnecting wedge mechanism for separating a tube from a patient tube connector. Each extension defines a ramped surface increasing in thickness moving from an extension tip towards the operator end.

A patient's stomach may be secured to the patient's diaphragm. A method to accomplish this includes visualizing a wall of a patient's stomach adjacent the patient's diaphragm from within the patient's stomach, inserting a fastener deployment apparatus down the patient's esophagus and into the mammalian's stomach, and fastening the patient's stomach to the patient's diaphragm with the fastener deployment apparatus and from within the stomach. The procedure may be employed to advantage to treat a hiatal hernia, for example, either alone or in conjunction with the restoration of the patient's gastroesophageal flap valve.

A device for treating a tissue opening includes a proximal portion including an elongated flexible member, a capsule releasably coupled to a distal end of the flexible member and including a lumen extending therethrough and a clip including a pair of arms movably housed within the capsule. A suture extending along a first one of the pair of arms and including a loop at a distal end thereof extending across an opening extending through the first one of the pair of arms. A suture grabbing element extending laterally from a second one of the pair of arms and including a hook so that, when the pair of arms are moved toward a closed configuration, the hook extends through the opening to grab the loop and draw the distal end of the suture from the first one of the pair of arms toward the second one of the pair of arms.

An interventional device for cutting tissue at a targeted cardiac valve, such as a mitral valve. The interventional device includes a catheter having a proximal end and a distal end. A cutting mechanism is positionable at the distal end, such as by routing the cutting mechanism through the catheter to position it at the distal end. The cutting mechanism includes one or more cutting elements configured for cutting valve tissue when engaged against the tissue. A handle is coupled to the proximal end of the catheter and includes one or more controls for actuating the cutting mechanism.

A robotic device is provided. The robotic device comprises: an articulatable elongate member comprising a proximal end and a distal end, and the distal end is steerable via a first driving mechanism; an articulatable imaging instrument removably coupled to the articulatable elongate member via a first lumen of the articulatable elongate member, and the articulatable imaging instrument comprises a camera located at a distal portion of the articulatable imaging instrument; an articulatable instrument removably coupled to the articulatable elongate member via a second lumen, and an operation of the articulatable instrument is captured by the camera of the articulatable imaging instrument.

A surgical instrument is disclosed. The instrument includes a handle configured to move between an open position and a closed position; at least one clamping structure coupled to the handle. The at least one clamping structure includes a first set of pushing members operatively coupled to the handle. The movement of the handle from open position to the closed position facilitates the movement of pushing members into longitudinal direction. The at least one clamping structure includes a set of constrictors coupled to the set of the pushing members such that movement of the set of the pushing members enables movement of the set of constrictors from a designed position in which the set of constrictors are positioned away from each other and to a contracted position in which the set of constrictors are positioned closed to each other.