Patent ID: 8435169

Claim:
A method for forming an artificial valve to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease, comprising: inserting a sheath orally into a body cavity, wherein the sheath has proximal and distal sections and a lumen extending therethrough; inserting an endoscope, which has an observation system, orally into a body cavity, wherein the endoscope is slidably positioned within the sheath; holding tissue in a vicinity of a junction of a stomach and an esophagus where the artificial valve is to be formed, using a distal end of a holding device extending from the sheath; penetrating through tissue of the esophagus and then through tissue of the stomach at an oral side of the junction of the stomach and the esophagus with a first needle, which is provided outside of the endoscope and is not mechanically connected to the holding device, and which is moveable outside of the endoscope relative to the endoscope; passing a binding member through the tissue of the esophagus and the tissue of the stomach using the first needle; and penetrating through the tissue of the esophagus and then through the tissue of the stomach at an oral side of the junction of the stomach and the esophagus with a second needle, which is provided outside of the endoscope and is not mechanically connected to the holding device, wherein the second needle is spaced apart from the first needle by a fixed distance and is arranged substantially in parallel with the first needle.