Patent ID: 8795311

Claim:
A stoma dilator comprising: a base dilator having a distal end, a proximal end, and a tubular body positioned therebetween, a hub positioned on the proximal end of the base dilator, at least a portion of a dilator positioner is provided therewith, the distal end includes a stop thereon, and the base dilator is formed to include an opening therethrough, wherein the base dilator is configured to be positioned over a wire into a patient's tissue; a plurality of dilators disposed in an initial, un-deployed configuration coaxially stacked on the base dilator, each of the plurality of dilators including a distal end, a proximal end, and a tubular body positioned therebetween, another portion of the dilator positioner comprising a stop positioned proximally on each of at least two or more of the plurality of dilators; and a hollow sheath is positioned over an outermost dilator of the plurality of dilators, wherein the portions of the dilator positioner cooperate to position the plurality of dilators such that a portion of each distal end of each dilator is graspable by a health care practitioner for movement from its initial, un-deployed configuration coaxially stacked on the base dilator to a deployed position, wherein the stop on the base dilator and the more than one stop on the plurality of dilators cooperate to form a taper of a distal end of the stoma dilator when the plurality of dilators are positioned in a deployed position.