Ureteral stent for placement in a kidney and bladder

A stent assembly including:

• a ureteral stent for placement in a bladder, a kidney and a ureteral passageway connecting the bladder and the kidney, the ureteral stent including:
• a bladder portion positionable in the bladder to prevent the bladder portion from migrating into the ureteral passageway;
• a tubular kidney portion positionable in the kidney and the ureteral passageway, the tubular kidney portion having a ureter portion configured to be positioned in the kidney and the ureteral passageway to place the ureteral passageway in an open state and a resilient fixing portion biased in an unrestrained position to secure the resilient fixing portion in the kidney;
• and
• a tether connecting the bladder portion and the ureter portion to allow the bladder portion to float in the bladder and to allow a ureter orifice connecting the ureteral passageway to the bladder to move between a compressed state and an uncompressed state;
• and
• a pusher tube for inserting the stent into the kidney, ureteral passageway and bladder, the pusher tube having a first end configured to abut an end of the ureter portion and a second end opposite the first end,
• wherein the pusher tube has a first diameter, the kidney portion has a second diameter less than the first diameter, and the bladder portion has a third diameter less than the second diameter.

A method for positioning a ureteral stent in a kidney, ureteral passageway, and bladder using a pusher tube, the ureteral stent including a bladder portion, a kidney portion, and a tether connecting the bladder portion and the kidney portion, the method including:

• advancing a guidewire into the bladder, the ureteral passageway, and the kidney;
• advancing the kidney portion over the guidewire;
• advancing the pusher tube over the guidewire until a first end of the pusher tube abuts a second end of the kidney portion;
• and
• advancing the pusher tube towards the kidney until the kidney portion is disposed in the kidney and ureteral passageway and the first end of the pusher tube is in the ureteral passageway a distance substantially equal to a length of the tether from the second end of the kidney portion to a first end of the bladder portion to which the tether is connected.