Patent ID: 9700326
Date: 2017-07-11
CPC Classifications: A61B,A61M

Claim:
1. A method for dilating an opening in a head of a human or animal subject with a shapeable guide member, wherein the shapeable guide member includes a shapeable region having a malleable member and a tubular member, the method comprising: (a) bending the malleable member of the shapeable region to a desired shape to facilitate advancement of a distal end of the guide member to a desired location, wherein the malleable member is attached to the tubular member, wherein the shapeable region is located closer to a distal end of the guide member than to a proximal end of the guide member, wherein the malleable member of the shapeable region substantially retains the desired shape after bending and holds the shapeable region in the desired shape, wherein the act of bending is performed by a human operator; (b) inserting the guide member, distal end first, into a head of the subject to position the distal end of the guide member at or near the opening in the head of the subject; (c) advancing a balloon along the guide member to position the balloon within the opening in the head of the subject; and (d) expanding the balloon within the opening in the head of the subject to thereby dilate the opening.