Methods and apparatus for treating disorders of the ear nose and throat

A method of dilating an anatomical passageway with a device that comprises a body, an elongate guide shaft that extends distally from the handle and has a guide shaft lumen and is configured to define a bend, a guidewire slidably disposed within the guide shaft lumen, a dilator slidably disposed within the guide shaft lumen and over the guidewire, a first actuating member coupled with the guidewire, and a second actuating member coupled with the dilator, the method comprising:

• (a) positioning a distal end of the elongate guide shaft near an anatomical passageway to be dilated;
• (b) moving the first actuating member relative to the body to thereby advance the guidewire distally from the elongate guide shaft and into the anatomical passageway;
• (c) with the dilator in a non-expanded configuration, moving the second actuating member relative to the body to thereby advance the dilator distally relative to the guidewire, beyond the bend, and into the anatomical passageway while the bend maintains a bent shape;
• and
• (d) transitioning the dilator from the non-expanded configuration to an expanded configuration to thereby dilate the anatomical passageway.

A method of dilating an anatomical passageway with a device that comprises a body having a longitudinal slot, an elongate guide shaft that extends distally from the handle and has a guide shaft lumen and is configured to define a bend, a guidewire slidably disposed within the guide shaft lumen, a dilator slidably received within the guide shaft lumen and over the guidewire, and an actuating member slidably disposed within the longitudinal slot of the body, the method comprising:

• (a) positioning a distal end of the elongate guide shaft near an anatomical passageway to be dilated;
• (b) advancing the guidewire distally from the elongate guide shaft and into the anatomical passageway;
• (c) with the dilator in a non-expanded configuration, moving the actuating member within the longitudinal slot to thereby actuate the dilator distally relative to the guidewire, beyond the bend, and into the anatomical passageway while the bend maintains a bent shape;
• and
• (d) transitioning the dilator from the non-expanded configuration to an expanded configuration to thereby dilate the anatomical passageway.