Stent pusher assembly
AssigneeUniversity Hospitals Health Systems, Inc.
InventorsLee E. Ponsky, Dean Secrest
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Provided is a stent pusher assembly for positioning a ureteral stent, the stent pusher assembly having an inner and outer stent pusher. The stent pusher assembly positions the ureteral stent in a patient's kidney and bladder without a bladder fixing portion of the stent entering a ureteral passage-way, thereby minimizing irritation to the patient.
Claims9
A method for positioning a ureteral stent in a kidney, ureteral passageway and bladder of a patient using a stent pusher assembly having an inner and outer pusher, the ureteral stent including a bladder portion configured to be positioned in the bladder, a kidney portion configured to be positioned in the kidney and the ureteral passageway, and at least one tether coupled to 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 and bladder portion over the guidewire;
- advancing the outer pusher over the guidewire;
- advancing the outer pusher along the guidewire until a second end of the outer pusher abuts a first end of the bladder portion;
- advancing the outer pusher towards the kidney to advance the bladder portion and kidney portion until the kidney portion is substantially positioned in the ureteral passageway;
- advancing the inner pusher over the guidewire, through a lumen of the outer pusher and through a lumen of the bladder portion until a second end of the inner pusher abuts a second end of the kidney portion;
- and
- advancing the inner pusher towards the kidney to advance the kidney portion such that the second end of the kidney portion is disposed in the ureteral passageway and a first end of the kidney portion is disposed in the kidney.
8-21. (canceled)
A method for positioning a ureteral stent in a kidney, ureteral passageway and bladder of a patient using a stent pusher assembly, the ureteral stent including a bladder portion having an open proximal end, an open distal end, and a lumen extending therebetween, a kidney portion having an open proximal end, an open distal end, and a lumen extending therebetween, and at least one tether connecting the bladder portion and the kidney portion, and the stent pusher assembly including an inner stent pusher including a body having an open proximal end, an open distal end, and a lumen extending therebetween, and an outer stent pusher including a body having an open proximal end, an open distal end, and a lumen extending therebetween, wherein the body of the inner stent pusher has an axial length greater than an axial length of the body of the outer stent pusher, the method including:
- advancing the distal end of the outer stent pusher until the distal end abuts the proximal end of the bladder portion while the distal end of the bladder portion abuts the proximal end of the kidney portion;
- advancing the bladder portion and kidney portion at the same time until the kidney portion is substantially positioned in the ureteral passageway and the bladder portion is positioned in the bladder;
- advancing the inner stent pusher through the lumen of the outer stent pusher and through the lumen of the bladder portion such that the distal end of the inner stent pusher abuts the proximal end of the kidney portion;
- and
- advancing the kidney portion into the kidney while the bladder portion floats in the bladder.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.