Surgical blade instruments with condensable vapor delivery

A vapor ablation device, comprising:

• a blade having a sharp cutting edge;
• at least one vapor outlet positioned adjacent to but spaced apart from the sharp cutting edge;
• a flow channel in fluid communication with the at least one vapor outlet;
• a vapor generation system capable of converting a liquid medium into a flow comprising predominantly of a condensable vapor deliverable through the at least one vapor outlet;
• and
• a controller configured to selectively and/or automatically control delivery of the condensable vapor, wherein the blade is configured to cut tissue;
• wherein the at least one vapor outlet is configured to direct the condensable vapor to reach tissue adjacent the sharp cutting edge;
• wherein the controller is configured to deliver the condensable vapor during or in temporal association with cutting;
• and
• wherein the condensable vapor is configured to condense on the tissue to transfer latent heat to the tissue to provide localized thermal treatment during or contemporaneously with cutting of the tissue.

A vapor ablation device, comprising:

• a proximal housing carrying (i) a source containing a liquid medium and (ii) a pump assembly;
• a working end comprising a blade having a sharp cutting edge;
• a blade-adjacent member positioned adjacent to the blade;
• a flow channel in fluid communication with the source;
• a resistive heating structure thermally coupled to the flow channel and configured to convert a flow of the liquid medium into a flow comprising predominantly a condensable vapor;
• at least one vapor outlet carried by, defined by, or formed in the blade-adjacent member and positioned at or near the blade;
• wherein the pump assembly is configured to deliver the flow of the liquid medium to the resistive heating structure at a flow rate ranging from about 2 microliters/second to about 20 microliters/second;
• a controller configured to operate the pump assembly and the resistive heating structure to generate the flow comprising predominantly condensable vapor;
• and
• wherein the at least one vapor outlet is configured to direct the condensable vapor to reach tissue adjacent the sharp cutting edge during or in temporal association with cutting.