Patent ID: 9603657
Date: 2017-03-28
CPC Classifications: A61B

Claim:
1. A method for coagulating a soft tissue comprising: placing an elongate member against the soft tissue, the elongate member comprising at least one vacuum lumen and at least one element, where the at least one element is in fluid communication with the vacuum lumen wherein said elongate member further comprises a non-conductive sheath covering a length of said at least one element and movable relative to said at least one element, and advancing or retracting said non-conductive sheath relative to said element until an exposed length of said element equals a desired lesion length before or after advancing said element against said soft tissue surface; applying a vacuum source to produce a vacuum in said lumen such that the vacuum passes through the at least one element to draw tissue in contact with a length of the at least one element; and transmitting energy through the at least one element to create a contiguous lesion in the soft tissue where the contiguous lesion has a length that corresponds to the length of the at least one element that contacts the tissue.