# US 11,992,427 B2 · Stent removal snare and dilator

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- Number: US 11,992,427 B2
- Document ID: US11992427B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/566,807
- Filed: 2021-12-31
- Published: 2022-04-21
- Granted: 2024-05-28
- Earliest claimed: 2014-10-23
- Applicants: Michael Mooreville
- Inventors: Michael Mooreville
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11992427B2

## CPC

- A61F 2/95: Instruments specially adapted for placement or removal of stents or stent-grafts
- A61B 17/50: Instruments {, other than pincettes or toothpicks,} for removing foreign bodies from the human body (surgical pincettes, i.e. surgical tweezers, A61B17/30)
- A61F 2002/9528: {for retrieval of stents}
- A61F: FILTERS IMPLANTABLE INTO BLOOD VESSELS; PROSTHESES; DEVICES PROVIDING PATENCY TO, OR PREVENTING COLLAPSING OF, TUBULAR STRUCTURES OF THE BODY, e.g. STENTS; ORTHOPAEDIC, NURSING OR CONTRACEPTIVE DEVICES; FOMENTATION; TREATMENT OR PROTECTION OF EYES OR EARS; BANDAGES, DRESSINGS OR ABSORBENT PADS; FIRST-AID KITS (dental prosthetics A61C)
- A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D)

## Abstract

A tool for removing non-visually, urinary tract stents placed within the urinary tract of a patient, comprising a distal end, a longitudinally-extending stem, and a handle. The distal end has a conical head with a groove for hooking a stent, stent string or similar stent configuration. The snare head may have a channel for advancing the tool through a urethra over a guide wire. The snare head has a narrow conical front end for dilating urethral strictures. The stem connects the snare head to the snare handle and is made to be flexible or bend on encountering resistance.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A ureteral stent snare system for removing urinary tract stents, the ureteral stent snare system comprising:
a ureteral stent comprising a bladder curl; and
a stent snare comprising:
a. a conical head for hooking the ureteral stent, the conical head comprising: i. a dilating front end for dilating a urethra as the stent snare passes through the urethra, li. a base end opposite the front end, the base end comprising a snare hook having—an interior surface and an exterior surface forming a fixed groove across the base end, wherein the groove is capable of being at different angles to a longitudinal axis of the stent snare, and wherein the conical head is constructed of one solid piece of material, and wherein the snare hook is configured to hook onto the bladder curl residing in a patient's bladder,
b. a handle for controlling the passage of the conical head through the urethra; and
c. a stem longitudinally extending from the conical head to the handle, wherein the handle, the stem, and the conical head form a unitary tool, wherein the stem is inserted off center on the conical head.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The ureteral stent snare system of claim 1, wherein the conical head further comprises a channel extending longitudinally from the front end through the base end for guiding the stent snare over a guide wire.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The ureteral stent snare system of claim 2, wherein the conical head is 10 mm in length, the front end has a diameter of 2.5 mm, the base end has a diameter of 6 mm, and the channel has a radius of 0.5 mm.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The ureteral stent snare system of claim 1, wherein the stem is constructed of a material that is flexible and elastic.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The ureteral stent snare system of claim 1, wherein the conical head, the handle, and the stem are made of a biologically inert material selected from a group consisting steel, plastic, and hard polymer.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The ureteral stent snare system of claim 1, wherein the stem is 25.5 cm in length.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The ureteral stent snare system of claim 1, wherein the conical head has a smooth surface to allow for non-traumatic travel through the urethra.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The ureteral stent snare system of claim 1, wherein the stem provides markings indicating a distance the sent snare has traveled in the urethra.