Endoscopic method of cleaning and operating on a site within a patient

Claim 1

An endoscopic surgical method comprising the steps of: providing an endoscope with an elongate flexible insertion member insertable into a patient, said insertion member having a biopsy channel; also providing (i) a primary tubular member having a plurality of lumens, (ii) a secondary tubular member slidably insertable through one of said lumens and (iii) an auxiliary endoscopic surgical instrument slidably insertable through another of said lumens, said secondary tubular member having a distal end provided with a multiplicity of apertures distributed in a cylindrical locus; inserting said insertion member into a patient; moving said primary tubular member through said biopsy channel so that a distal end of said primary tubular member emerges from said biopsy channel inside the patient; sliding said secondary tubular member in said one of said lumens so that the distal end of said secondary tubular member emerges from said one of said lumens inside the patient; operatively connecting a proximal end of said secondary tubular member to a source of pressurized liquid; upon completion of said steps of inserting, moving sliding and connecting, spraying liquid from said source in a substantially uniform cylindrical distribution through said apertures at the distal end of said secondary tubular member, thereby cleaning organic debris from a site inside the patient; ejecting a distal end portion of said instrument from said another of said lumens inside the patient; and upon ejection of the distal end portion of said instrument and upon a cleaning of said site during said step of spraying, using said instrument to perform an endoscopic surgical operation on organic tissues at said site.