Patent ID: 7896888

Claim:
A method for inserting a plurality of wire guides into the body of a patient for carrying out a medical procedure, comprising: providing a first wire guide having a proximal end and a distal end, said proximal end defining a curve; and providing a second wire guide, said second wire guide having a greater stiffness than a stiffness of the first wire guide; inserting said first wire guide distal end into an opening in a body vessel, and advancing said wire guide distal end through said vessel to a target site; providing a catheter having proximal and distal open ends and a lumen extending therebetween, said catheter having a flexibility sufficient for passage over said first wire guide to said target site, and having an inwardly curved portion between said proximal and distal open ends, said catheter further having a side port positioned proximal of a bend along said inwardly curved portion; inserting the curved proximal end of the first wire guide into the catheter lumen through the distal end of said catheter, and advancing said catheter relative to the first wire guide in a manner such that said first wire guide curve emerges through said side port; further advancing said catheter along said first wire guide to said target site; and inserting said second wire guide into the catheter lumen through the proximal open end of the catheter, and advancing said second wire guide through the catheter lumen to said target site.