Patent ID: 9597146
Date: 2017-03-21
CPC Classifications: A61B

Claim:
1. A method of surgical perforation, the method utilizing an apparatus having an energy delivery device at a distal end thereof and a delivery system comprising a sheath and a dilator, said method comprising the steps of: (i) inserting the delivery system into a patient's vasculature at a location superior to a patient's heart; (ii) advancing the delivery system into the patient's heart through a superior vena cava; (iii) adjusting a shape of a distal portion of the delivery system to define a first configuration such that a distal end of the delivery system is oriented substantially perpendicularly relative to a surface of a septum of the patient's heart; (iv) inserting the apparatus through the delivery system to position the energy delivery device about the distal end of the delivery system; (v) positioning the delivery system such that it is braced against a free wall of a right atrium of the patient's heart and positioning said energy delivery device at a first location against the septum; and (vi) delivering energy via said energy delivery device to create a perforation through the septum.