Patent ID: 6419690
Filing Date: 2002-07-16
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
A method of treating a patient afflicted with a disease of the prostate, said method comprising:providing a urethral warming catheter for warming the portion of the urethra in a male human patient bounded proximally by a bladder neck sphincter and distally by an external sphincter said, said urethral warming catheter having a distal section adapted for insertion into the portion of the urethra, said warming catheter comprising: an outer tube the outside diameter of which approximates the inside diameter of the urethra, an inner tube which is within the outer tube, said inner tube opening into the outer tube near the distal section of the warming catheter; wherein said inner tube has one or more diffuser holes communicating through the inner tube, said diffuser holes extending along the inner tube a distance approximating the length of the urethra which extends from the external sphincter to the bladder neck sphincter; inserting the distal section of the urethral warming catheter into the urethra until the distal section is located within the prostate; controlling the temperature of the portion of the urethra bounded proximally by the bladder neck sphincter and distally by the external sphincter by causing a fluid to flow distally through the inner tube, through the diffuser holes and into the outer tube, and then proximally through the outer tube; ablating the prostate of the patient while controlling the temperature of the portion of the urethra bounded proximally by the bladder neck sphincter and distally by the external sphincter.