Clot evacuation catheter

Surgery – Instruments – Cutting – puncturing or piercing

Reexamination Certificate

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Details

C606S180000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06206900

ABSTRACT:

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Not applicable.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY-SPONSORED RESEARCH
Not applicable.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to clot removal devices. More particularly, the invention relates to catheters for evacuating clots from the bladder or thick fluids from hollow viscera or cavities.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Urological procedures, such as operations and/or pathology on the bladder and prostate, are commonly performed. A complication that may arise as a result of such urological procedures being performed, or as a result of diseases of the bladder or prostate, is the accumulation and retention of clots in the bladder or prostate.
The presence of these clots, and the danger they potentially pose to a patient, have been known for decades. Many techniques and associated devices have been employed in order to eliminate these bladder clots. Most techniques involve the insertion of catheters to irrigate and then evacuate the clots. For example, one specific technique involves the insertion of a 3-way Foley catheter to irrigate the bladder followed by the replacement of the Foley catheter with a Whistle tip catheter to further irrigate the bladder and suction away clots.
While this clot evacuation technique usually works for its intended purpose, it is replete with disadvantages and associated problems involving patient discomfort, duration, cost and risk. For example, the insertion and removal of a catheter on two separate occasions during one procedure increases the likelihood of triggering acute senses of invasiveness and discomfort in a patient. Also, when especially large clots are present and need to be evacuated, correspondingly large catheters must be used, thus necessitating the use of general anesthesia.
Another problem with this, and other techniques that employ more than one catheter, is that certain remote but realistic risks to a patient arise upon each insertion of a catheter (i.e., bladder injury or rupture, bacteremia) and accompany any usage of general anesthesia (i.e., allergic reaction by the patient, overdose). Furthermore, these prior art clot evacuation techniques are costly due to the surgical time required and the use of general anesthesia.
Another technique for eliminating clots in the bladder or prostate is to cut the clots with a catheter equipped with cutting blades. Catheters equipped with cutting blades, however, have yet to adequately reconcile safety issues with performance issues. For example, large and powerful blades are required to cut large bladder clots; however, such catheters do not adequately protect the bladder wall from being cut while the blade is active.
Various clot evacuation catheters are shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,020,847 (to Clark, III); 4,631,052 (to Kensey); 4,754,755 (to Husted); 4,790,812 (to Hawkins, Jr. et al.); 5,520,635 (to Gelbfish) and 5,643,296 (to Hundertmark).
A need remains, however, for a catheter which will enable the effective removal of clots of varying size from the bladder and/or prostate while minimizing the cost and duration of the process, and the discomfort and risk of harm to the patient during the process.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a clot evacuation catheter. Although the invention is primarily shown and described as a device to cut and evacuate clots from the bladder, it is understood that the device has other applications as well.
The clot evacuation catheter includes a tubular body disposed within an outer lumen. The outer lumen and tubular body are concentric and have coaxial longitudinal axes. The outer lumen has an open distal end, and the tubular body has a distal portion with an opening therein.
The tubular body is elongate and hollow and has a cutting blade disposed within the distal portion thereof to cut clots. The cutting blade is substantially disk-shaped and is selectively rotatable in a plane transverse to the longitudinal axis of the tubular body. The cutting blade has at least one opening within which clots occlude and are cut. The cutting blade is mounted to a wall of the tubular body such that the tubular body and the cutting blade are selectively rotatable with each other. The catheter also includes a fluid conveying irrigation lumen. The irrigation lumen extends longitudinally through the catheter and has an open distal end disposed proximal to the cutting blade.
In another embodiment, the catheter further includes a hood member that is formed on and extends distally from the distal portion of the tubular body. A dome-like distal end of the hood member shrouds the distal portion of the tubular body while allowing access to the tubular body through a side opening in the hood member.


REFERENCES:
patent: 4020847 (1977-05-01), Clark, III
patent: 4167943 (1979-09-01), Banko
patent: 4631052 (1986-12-01), Kensey
patent: 4754755 (1988-07-01), Husted
patent: 4790812 (1988-12-01), Hawkins, Jr. et al.
patent: 4815462 (1989-03-01), Clark
patent: 5507760 (1996-04-01), Wynne et al.
patent: 5520635 (1996-05-01), Gelbfish
patent: 5569275 (1996-10-01), Kotula et al.
patent: 5643296 (1997-07-01), Hundertmark et al.
patent: 5807401 (1998-09-01), Grieshaber et al.
patent: 4038398 (1992-06-01), None

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