Claims
- 1. A method of treating venous insufficiency, the method comprising the steps of:
introducing a catheter having a working end into a vein having an inner wall; flattening the vein such that the inner wall of the vein is brought toward the working end of the catheter; applying energy from the working end of the catheter to the vein to create a thermal effect in the vein so as to reduce the diameter of the vein and lead to occlusion of the vein; retracting the catheter along the vein during the step of applying energy.
- 2. The method of claim 1, wherein a lengthy occlusion is formed along the area of the vein in which the catheter is retracted during the step of applying energy.
- 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of delivering fluid to the vein where the working end of the catheter is located.
- 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of delivering fluid comprises the step of delivering saline to the vein.
- 5. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of delivering fluid comprises the step of delivering dielectric fluid to the vein.
- 6. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of delivering fluid comprises the step of delivering heparin to the vein.
- 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of applying energy includes the step of applying RF energy.
- 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of applying energy includes the step of applying electrical energy from electrodes.
- 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of applying energy includes the step of applying light energy from a fiber optic.
- 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of monitoring the vein during the step of flattening the vein.
- 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of monitoring the temperature at the working end of the catheter in the vein during the step of applying energy.
- 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the vein is a varicose vein.
- 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of flattening the vein includes the step of compressing the anatomy surrounding the vein at the location of the working end of the catheter.
- 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of flattening the vein includes the step of using an elastic compressive wrap around the anatomy surrounding the vein at the location of the working end of the catheter.
Parent Case Info
[0001] This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/866,517, filed May 25, 2001, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 09/267,756 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,237,606) filed on Mar. 10, 1999, which is a divisional of application Ser. No. 08/927,251 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,200,312) filed on Sep. 11, 1997, the contents of which are all hereby incorporated by reference.
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
08927251 |
Sep 1997 |
US |
Child |
09267756 |
Mar 1999 |
US |
Continuations (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09866517 |
May 2001 |
US |
Child |
10900563 |
Jul 2004 |
US |
Parent |
09267756 |
Mar 1999 |
US |
Child |
09866517 |
May 2001 |
US |