Two ballooned catheter device for diagnostic and operative use

Claim 1

Catheter device for use in the ureteral tract of a patient including an inner catheter in fluid communication with a first balloon fixed at its distal end and an outer catheter which embraces said inner catheter and in fluid communication with a second balloon fixed at its distal end, said first and second catheters being slidable one with respect to the other, said catheter device comprising in combination: said inner catheter being substantially coaxial to said outer catheter and having an inner central cavity, a flexible tip and a diameter of about 3 French (1 mm); a thin metal guide slidably inserted in said inner central cavity of said catheter, to be extracted when said inner catheter is positioned in the ureter; said first balloon being concentrically fixed on the distal end of the inner catheter; said outer catheter being formed with coaxial inner and outer walls which define therebetween a peripheral annular space, said peripheral annular space being closed at both the distal and proximal ends of said outer catheter and being in fluid communication with said second balloon, a central annular space being formed between said outer catheter and said inner catheter, said central annular space being open at both the distal proximal end of said outer catheter being provided with connection means said outer catheter to be inserted into the ureter in a sliding relation ship to said inner catheter; a lateral conduit in fluid communication with said peripheral annular space, integral with said outer wall of the outer catheter in correspondence with said proximal end; first valve means on said lateral conduit for controlling a fluid flowing therethrough; a coaxial conduit connected to said proximal end of the outer catheter through said connection means, in fluid communication with said central annular space, said coaxial conduit being coaxial to the inner catheter and containing the proximal end thereof; second valve means on said coaxial conduit for controlling a fluid flowing therethrough, whereby, when the desired sector of the ureteral tract has been confined between said first and second balloons, place at a desired distance one from the other and inflated, a fluid under pressure can be introduced into said sector, for dilating the tract.

Claim 5

A method for extracting from the ureteral tract of a patient, a stone which is held fixed by the wall of the ureteral tract, comprising: (a) confining a sector of the ureteral tract wherein the calculus is fixed, between two inflated balloons which adhere to the wall of said sector; (b) introducing the fluid under pressure into said sector for dilating the wall of the ureteral tract in said sector; (c) withdrawing said fluid from said sector to relax the wall in said sector; (d) repeating the operation of introducing and withdrawing the fluid, until the calculus is removed from said wall; (e) and repeating the operations (a) to (d) in progressively lower sectors of the ureteral tract to bring the calculus to the outlet of the ureteral tract.

Claim 6

A method for extracting from the ureteral tract of a patient, a stone which is held fixed by the wall of the ureteral tract, comprising: (a) confining a sector of the ureteral tract wherein the calculus is fixed, between two inflated balloons which adhere to the wall of said sector; (b) introducing the fluid under pressure into said sector for dilating the wall of the ureteral tract in said sector; (c) withdrawing said fluid from said sector to relax the wall in said sector; (d) repeating the operation of introducing and withdrawing the fluid, until the calculus is removed from said wall; (e) and repeating the operations (a) to (d) in progressively lower sectors of the ureteral tract to bring the calculus to the outlet of the ureteral tract.