A mastopexy implant for maintaining the breast in an elevated and aesthetically pleasing position includes a lower pole support comprising end portions which may be affixed to the chest wall or to a previously installed upper suspension strut. The implant is loaded in an insertion device. The insertion device is inserted through a small incision and into a subcutaneous pocket created in an inferior half of the breast. The lower pole support may have various constructs and in one embodiment includes a unitary conformable mesh having a plurality of arm or band members which are attached across the breast parenchyma and to the chest wall.

An apparatus for mechanically manipulating hollow organs within the body of a subject, or an organ manipulation apparatus, includes a manipulation section. The manipulation section may include a substantially two-dimensional element, which may have a width that exceeds a distance across a portion of the interior of a hollow organ within which the manipulation section is to be positioned. The manipulation section is configured to manipulate at least a portion of a hollow organ from within, which may modify at least one of a shape, orientation, or location of at least part of the hollow organ.

Methods for manipulating hollow organs are also disclosed, as are operating techniques, such as left atrial ablation, in which the shapes, orientations, and/or locations of hollow organs are manipulated to move the hollow organs away from the site of the medical procedure, reducing the potential for damage to the hollow organs.

A surgical probe and a method for forming and enlarging an access opening through a psoas muscle to provide for minimally invasive lateral approach for surgical access to a lumber intervertebral disc. A distal end portion of the probe is equipped with an electrode useful for confirming proper location of the probe and includes an inflatable dilator body for enlarging an access opening through tissue adjacent to a spinal column. The probe includes a cannula through which a K wire can be extended to anchor the probe to a patient.

Medical systems, devices and methods for creation of autologous tissue valves within a mammalian body are disclosed. One example of a device for creating a valve flap from a vessel wall includes an elongate tubular structure having a proximal portion and a distal portion and a longitudinal axis; a first lumen having a first exit port located on the distal portion of the elongate tubular structure; a second lumen having a second exit port located on the distal portion of the elongate tubular structure; a recessed distal surface on the distal portion of the elongate tubular structure, wherein the recessed distal surface is located distally to the first exit port; and an open trough on the recessed distal surface extending longitudinally from the first exit port.

Methods and devices described herein facilitate diaphragm entry for posterior access of body organs.

A method of creating a drug eluting system for hernia repair in a patient is provided. The includes providing an implantable mesh for hernia repair comprised of at least one of polytetrafluoroethylene fibers or polytetrafluoroethylene filaments, wherein the at least one of the polytetrafluoroethylene fibers or polytetrafluoroethylene filaments is at least one of directionally or non-directionally oriented, positioning a pharmaceutical agent on the implantable mesh, and coating at least a portion of the at least one of the polytetrafluoroethylene fibers or polytetrafluoroethylene filaments and the pharmaceutical agent with a polymer, wherein the implantable mesh is configured to be positioned in the body of the patient during the repair of the hernia and the pharmaceutical agent elutes from the implantable mesh into the body of the patient at the site of the hernia repair.

An integrated clot evacuation device having visualization for use in neurosurgical applications, particularly for the evacuation of clots formed as a result of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH). The device may further include an integrated camera and light for visualizing the interior of the brain and the clot itself. Further, the device is configured to evacuate clots through aspiration and irrigation.

An apparatus for mechanically manipulating hollow organs within the body of a subject, or an organ manipulation apparatus, includes a manipulation section. The manipulation section may include a substantially two-dimensional element, which may have a width that exceeds a distance across a portion of the interior of a hollow organ within which the manipulation section is to be positioned. The manipulation section is configured to manipulate at least a portion of a hollow organ from within, which may modify at least one of a shape, orientation, or location of at least part of the hollow organ. Methods for manipulating hollow organs are also disclosed, as are operating techniques, such as left atrial ablation, in which the shapes, orientations, and/or locations of hollow organs are manipulated to move the hollow organs away from the site of the medical procedure, reducing the potential for damage to the hollow organs.

An apparatus for rolling a bladder includes a support structure, a rolling pin, and a bladder-mounting pin. The apparatus optionally includes a rolling initiator Rolling a bladder includes inserting the bladder while unrolled into an apparatus for rolling a bladder, inserting the bladder between a rolling pin and a bladder-mounting pin of the rolling machine, and rotating the rolling pin to (a) advance a portion of the bladder between the rolling pin and the bladder-mounting pin, (b) roll the portion of the bladder around the bladder-mounting pin, and (c) drive the bladder-mounting pin to rotate in an opposite direction from that of the rolling pin.

Some embodiments provide a soft tissue device, such as a transverse carpal ligament cutting device having one or more balloons that are deflated when the device is in an inactive position and are inflated when the device is in an active position. Other embodiments provide a soft tissue cutting method, such as a method of cutting a transverse carpal ligament that uses a soft tissue cutting device.