Electrosurgical lysing devices and related systems and methods. In some embodiments, the lysing device may comprise a lysing tip comprising at least one bead comprising an at least substantially electrically non-conductive surface and at least one lysing member defining at least one lysing segment extending within a recess defined, at least in part, by the at least one bead, wherein the at least one bead protrudes both distally and proximally relative to the at least one lysing member.

The invention is an accessory configured to be fitted to an electrical surgical device and provide suction at a surgical site in which the electrical surgical device is being used. In particular, the accessory is in the form of a suction collar configured to be releasably coupled to the electrical surgical device, generally adjacent to a working end thereof, and provide suction to minimize the accumulation of excess steam, fluid, and/or debris from the surgical site during the treatment procedure. The suction collar is further configured to apply a sufficient suction force to a patient's skin surrounding the surgical site to aid in stabilizing the electrosurgical device in place and maintain the working end to the electrosurgical device within the surgical site during the procedure.

A thermal surgical tool comprising a conductor having a ferromagnetic material attached thereto is provided. The conductor may include a support of sufficiently high Young's modulus to resist bending when the surgical tool is being used to treat tissue. One or more intervening layers may be disposed between the support and the ferromagnetic material. Each of the intervening layers may be selected for a property that facilitates construction of the surgical tool and/or enhances a functionality of the surgical tool. The thermal surgical tool can be used for separating tissue, coagulation, tissue destruction or achieving other desired tissue effects in numerous surgical procedures.

An electrosurgical device can have a housing and an electrode defining an energizable surface at least partially positioned externally of the housing. The electrode can move longitudinally relative to the housing. A shank of the electrode can be positioned within the housing and configured to urge against an energizable element in the housing. The energizable element can have a longitudinally movable electrical coupler configured to electrically couple with the shank portion when the shank portion urges against the energizable element. Related methods are also disclosed.

Apparatus, systems, and methods for treating PKD by providing access to a patient's renal pelvis of a kidney to treat renal nerves embedded in tissue surrounding the renal pelvis. Access to the renal pelvis may be via the urinary tract or via minimally invasive incisions through the abdomen and kidney tissue. Treatment is effected by exchanging energy, typically delivering heat or extracting heat through a wall of the renal pelvis, or by delivering active substances to ablate a thin layer of tissue lining at least a portion of the renal pelvis to disrupt renal nerves within the tissue lining of the renal pelvis.

Ablation systems of the present disclosure facilitate the safe formation of wide and deep lesions. For example, ablation systems of the present disclosure can allow for the flow of irrigation fluid and blood through an expandable ablation electrode, resulting in efficient and effective cooling of the ablation electrode as the ablation electrode delivers energy at a treatment site of the patient. Additionally, or alternatively, ablation systems of the present disclosure can include a deformable ablation electrode and a plurality of sensors that, in cooperation, sense the deformation of the ablation electrode, to provide a robust indication of the extent and direction of contact between the ablation electrode and tissue at a treatment site.

A depth sensing dilator system for dilating a penetration in a tissue plane includes an elongate flexible body, having a proximal end and a distal end. The body has a tapered dilator segment, and at least a first electrode on a distal end of the body. The system includes a processor and a user interface output device. The processor is configured to send a first signal to the output device when a change in impedance at the first electrode indicates that the first electrode has reached a predetermined relationship with the tissue plane.

An electrosurgical instrument which is capable of simultaneously ablating an area of tissue with microwave energy and performing resection with RF energy. The instrument comprises a structure for conveying both RF and microwave energy to an instrument tip that is configured to emit the microwave energy in a manner suitable for ablation (e.g. as a substantially spherical field) and to emit the RF energy in a more focussed manner to enable accurate and controllable resection to be performed. The energy conveying structure comprises a coaxial transmission line for conveying microwave energy. The coaxial transmission line has a hollow inner conductor that defines a passage that supports a second transmission line for conveying radiofrequency energy.

The present invention is directed to a medical device for providing treatment to diseased tissue and cells. The medical device is configured to ablate a target tissue surface, optionally within a resection cavity, and further deliver a therapeutic that targets diseased (e.g., cancer) cells via a marker whose expression is upregulated by the ablation. The ablation directly kills diseased cells associated with the tissue surface. While some diseased cells evade direct ablation, those cells nevertheless upregulate certain cell surface markers in response to the ablation, even while other, healthy or normal cells do not upregulate expression of the marker in response to the ablation. Devices and methods disclosed herein are used to deliver a therapeutic that uses the upregulated cell surface marker to cause the death of those diseased cells.

Ablation systems and methods of the present disclosure include a catheter including one or more image sensors. The one or more image sensors can facilitate, for example, positioning an ablation electrode at a treatment site of an anatomic structure and, additionally or alternatively, can facilitate controlling delivery of therapeutic energy to a treatment site of an anatomic structure.