Patent ID: 6156035
Filing Date: 2000-12-05
Classification: A61B,A61M

Abstract:
An electrocautery probe for penetrating through tissue, which comprises:a tissue-compatible, flexible sleeve; an exposed electrode carried at one end of and immovably connected to said sleeve; a wire connected at one end to said electrode and extending through said sleeve, and an electrical connecter attached to an end of said wire opposed to said one end, said connector being suitable for attachment to a source of electrocautery power, said wire being substantially separate from said sleeve to be removable by pulling from said sleeve when said electrode is cut away or otherwise removed from the sleeve, whereby said probe can penetrate tissue by electrocautery action to form a tissue tunnel, and said electrode and wire can then be removed, leaving the sleeve in the tissue tunnel to serve as a drainage catheter, said wire comprising a distal, relatively thick wire portion adjacent said electrode, said thick wire portion being of a thickness to be manually bendable while tending to retain a shape to which it is bent; and a proximal, relatively thin wire portion having more flexibility than said thick wire portion, said wire portions being electrically connected together.