Methods and apparatuses for use in medical procedures are disclosed. Some implementations may include a medical procedure guide that can overlay portions of anatomy of a patient. The guide may include alignment markings to facilitate proper placement, procedure markings to facilitate determination of a position at which to commence a medical procedure, and/or imaging markers incorporated within the guide to facilitate commencement or completion of the medical procedure in conjunction with imaging.

Improvements for use with tissue expanders are provided. A tissue expander includes: a selectively inflatable and deflatable shell that is configured to be implanted; and an access port for selectively inflating and deflating the shell, the access port comprising a sidewall, a base at a first end, and a membrane at a second end opposite the first end wherein the sidewall and the base of the access port are constructed of a material that is non-reactive with a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine; and a structure of the access port is composed of a material that has a rate of temperature change lower than that of human tissue.

A system for assessing at least one characteristic of a device within a recipient is provided. The system includes a device removably insertable into the recipient where the device includes at least one of a treatment element and implant, and at least one wireless tag positioned within at least one portion of the device. The system includes a tracking device that includes processing circuitry configured to: if the device is inserted into the recipient, interrogate the at least one wireless tag positioned within at least one portion of the device; determine at least one characteristic of at least one portion of the device in three dimensional space based at least in part on the interrogation of the at least one wireless tag; and cause the at least one characteristic of the at least one portion of the device relative to the recipient to be indicated.

A surgical system including a machining tool aimed at being manually displaced by an operator, a lockable unit including at least two linked and manually displaceable elements aimed at being manually arranged according to a least one calculated locked configuration, a sensor unit including at least one sensor aimed at following, in real time, a real time configuration of the lockable unit within an anatomical reference system, where the at least two elements of the lockable unit cooperate with lockable element, the lockable element being configured to be activated by a control unit when the real time configuration of the lockable unit corresponds to the at least one locked configuration recorded inside the control unit.

Provided herein are submucosal lifting compositions and methods of using same. The submucosal lifting agents of the disclosure include a polysaccharide, a polyol, and a colorant.

An expandable fusion device capable of being installed inside an intervertebral disc space to maintain normal disc spacing and restore spinal stability, thereby facilitating an intervertebral fusion. The intervertebral implant may be configured to transition from a collapsed configuration having a first width and a first height to an expanded configuration having a second width and a second height.

A method of making a self-sealing patch for a tissue expander implant includes providing a first sheet having a first sheet outer perimeter and a first sheet inner edge defining a first central opening, providing a second sheet having a second sheet outer perimeter and a second sheet inner edge defining a second central opening, aligning the first and second sheet outer perimeters and the first and second sheet inner edges, capturing an outer washer between the first and second sheet outer perimeters for attaching the first and second sheets together, and capturing an inner washer between the first and second sheet inner edges for attaching the first and second sheets together. The method includes spacing an inner perimeter of the outer washer from an outer perimeter of the inner washer to form a sealed annular space between the attached first and second sheets, and disposing a hydrophobic material within the sealed annular space.

A device for dividing a fibrous structure comprising an expandable member positioned near the distal end of a catheter and in fluid communication with the lumen of the catheter so that the expandable member can be biased between an inflated state and a deflated state to tension the fibrous structure, and electrosurgical elements situated on or proximate to an outer surface of the expandable member and configured to deliver electrical and thermal energy to the tensioned fibrous structure in a manner that results in division of the tensioned fibrous structure. A method for dividing a fibrous structure comprising positioning proximate the fibrous structure an expandable member having electrosurgical elements, expanding the expandable member outwards to tension the fibrous structure across the electrosurgical elements, and activating the electrosurgical elements to deliver energy to the tensioned fibrous structure to divide the tensioned fibrous structure.

A brassiere comprising a first aperture, a second aperture, a first shell and a second shell. The first shell has a first rim extending laterally outwardly therefrom, the first aperture dimensioned and configured to receive one or both of the first shell and first rim. The first rim non-fixedly positionable in contact with skin of a wearer. The second shell has a second rim extending laterally outwardly therefrom. The second aperture is dimensioned and configured to receive one or both of the second shell and second rim, the second rim non-fixedly positionable in contact with skin of the wearer wherein the first and second rims are slidable outwardly while maintaining contact with the skin.

Tissue expanders and methods of their manufacture and use are disclosed herein. A tissue expander shell according to the present disclosure may include a shape and topography that facilitates uniform or substantially uniform expansion and contraction of the tissue expander. In at least one example, the shell may include a series of topographical features, such as ridges, grooves, channels, valleys, canals, protrusions, pleats, creases, or folds. In some embodiments, these features may have a curved or wavy cross sectional profile. For example, the shell may include a series of concentric curved ridges.