Catheter extraction
AssigneeQathex, LLC
InventorsGabriel Herscu, Curt Toppel, Elmer Tolentino
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A catheter extraction tool has a head that can be placed in position to significantly surround a diameter of a catheter. The head is shaped to have a low enough profile above the catheter to allow the head to be slid down the catheter and into a subdermal region in which the catheter is subdermal with respect to a patient. The head of the catheter extraction tool is expanded sufficiently to slide the head over a catheter cuff located in the subdermal region. After the head of the catheter extraction tool slides over the catheter cuff, the head is contracted to engage the catheter so that a user can pull the catheter out of the patient using the catheter extraction tool.
Claims20
A method for extracting an implanted cuffed catheter including a catheter and a cuff from a patient, the method comprising:
- advancing a blunt distal tip of a removal head over a body region of the catheter until the blunt distal tip of the removal head reaches a proximal end of the cuff while manipulating the removal head to dissect the cuff from surrounding tissue;
- retracting the removal head until a proximal end of the removal head engages a distal end of the cuff to apply an extractive force against the cuff;
- and
- proximally drawing on the catheter while retracting the removal head to pull out the catheter and cuff.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.