Patent ID: 7329228

Claim:
A method for performing a tissue acquisition procedure comprising: a) providing a tissue acquisition instrument having a distal end, a proximal end, a longitudinal axis, a tissue cutting element along a length of a distal portion proximal to the distal end, and at least one radially extendable and retractable member with a free end within said length, the method comprising: b) placing the distal end of the instrument in a patient's body, so that the length of the distal portion proximal to the distal end is disposed in a desired tissue location; and c) affixing the length of the distal portion of the instrument to said desired tissue location by extending the at least one radially extendable and retractable member into surrounding tissue radially and oriented in a proximal or distal direction, so that the free end of the at least one radially extendable and retractable member engages tissue at the desired tissue location so that the distal end of the instrument does not move axially relative to the desired tissue location during the tissue acquisition procedure.