Retractable catheter systems and associated methods

A method of performing a series of dialysis procedures on a body of a patient with a catheter system which includes (i) a working catheter having a distal working orifice, and (ii) a guide catheter having a guide lumen and a distal guide orifice, comprising the steps of:

• (a) locking said working catheter in an operative position in which (i) said working catheter extends through said guide lumen of said guide catheter and out of said distal guide orifice of said guide catheter, and (ii) said distal working orifice of said working catheter is positioned outside of said guide catheter;
• (b) after step (a), performing an initial dialysis procedure on said body of said patient which includes advancing and withdrawing fluid through said working catheter while said working catheter is locked in said operative position, said working catheter being coupled to a dialysis machine during said initial dialysis procedure;
• (c) after step (b), locking said working catheter in a stowed position in which (i) said working catheter extends into said guide lumen of said guide catheter, and (ii) said distal working orifice of said working catheter is positioned within said guide lumen of said guide catheter;
• (d) after step (c), maintaining said working catheter in said stowed position during an idle period during which said catheter system is decoupled from said dialysis machine, said catheter system being located at least partially within said body of said patient throughout the entirety of said idle period;
• (e) after step (d), locking said working catheter in said operative position;
• and
• (f) after step (e), performing a subsequent dialysis procedure on said body of said patient which includes advancing and withdrawing fluid through said working catheter while said working catheter is locked in said operative position, said working catheter being coupled to said dialysis machine during said subsequent dialysis procedure.

A method of performing dialysis on a body of a patient with a catheter system which includes (i) a conduit having a distal working orifice, and (ii) a guide catheter having a guide lumen and a distal guide orifice, comprising the steps of:

• locking said conduit to said guide catheter in an operative position in which said distal working orifice of said conduit is positioned outside of said guide catheter;
• performing an initial dialysis procedure including advancing and withdrawing blood through said conduit while said conduit is locked in said operative position;
• and
• after said initial dialysis procedure, locking said conduit to said guide catheter in a stowed position in which said distal working orifice of said conduit is positioned within said guide lumen of said guide catheter.

A method of performing a series of medical procedures on a body of a patient, comprising the steps of:

• securing a catheter system to said body using a tunneled catheter technique;
• performing an initial medical procedure on said body after said securing step, said initial medical procedure including advancing fluid through a distal orifice of a conduit of said catheter system, and said distal orifice being located outside of a guide lumen of a guide catheter of said catheter system during said initial medical procedure performing step;
• after said initial medical procedure performing step, locking said distal orifice of said conduit within said guide lumen of said guide catheter of said catheter system;
• and
• performing a subsequent medical procedure on said body after said locking step, said subsequent medical procedure including advancing fluid though said distal orifice of said conduit of said catheter system, and said distal orifice being located outside of said guide lumen of said guide catheter of said catheter system during said subsequent medical procedure performing step.

A method of performing a series of dialysis procedures on a body of a patient, comprising the steps of:

• performing an initial dialysis procedure on said body including advancing blood through a distal orifice of a conduit of a catheter system, and said distal orifice being located outside of a guide lumen of a guide catheter of said catheter system during said initial dialysis procedure performing step;
• after said initial dialysis procedure performing step, locking said distal orifice of said conduit within said guide lumen of said guide catheter of said catheter system;
• and
• performing a subsequent dialysis procedure on said body after said locking step, said dialysis procedure including advancing blood though said distal orifice of said conduit of said catheter system, and said distal orifice being located outside of said guide lumen of said guide catheter of said catheter system during said subsequent dialysis procedure performing step.