Claims
- 1. A method of reducing lung size of a lung, the method including the steps of:
inserting a conduit down a trachea, into a mainstem bronchus, into a bronchial branch, and into a bronchial sub-branch communicating with a lung portion of the lung to be reduced in size; pulling a vacuum in the lung portion through the conduit to collapse the lung portion; and deploying an obstructing member in the bronchial sub-branch to preclude air from being inhaled into the lung portion through the bronchial sub-branch.
- 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the deploying step includes feeding the obstructing member down the conduit and into the bronchial sub-branch.
- 3. A method for lung volume reduction, said method comprising:
isolating a lung tissue segment; aspirating the isolated segment to cause the segment to collapse; and sealing an air passage which opens to the lung segment to inhibit reinflation of the segment.
- 4. The method of claim 3, wherein sealing comprises deploying a plug in the air passage.
- 5. The method of claim 4, wherein deploying comprises advancing the plug through a catheter to the air passage.
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/606,320 (Attorney Docket No.: 17534-000710), filed on Jun. 28, 2000, which was a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/347,032 (Attorney Docket No. 17534-000700), filed on Jul. 2, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,287,290, the full disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09379972 |
Aug 1999 |
US |
Child |
09347032 |
Jul 1999 |
US |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09606320 |
Jun 2000 |
US |
Child |
10017068 |
Dec 2001 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09347032 |
Jul 1999 |
US |
Child |
09606320 |
Jun 2000 |
US |