Patent ID: 7468060

Claim:
A method to treat obesity comprising (i) providing an expandable member expandable between a collapsed condition and an expanded condition, the expandable member including at least one energy-delivery electrode movable between a retracted position within the expandable member and an extended position piercing tissue, (ii) introducing the expandable member into a pyloric sphincter in the collapsed condition and with the energy-delivery electrode in the retracted position, (iii) expanding the expandable member to dilate the pyloric sphincter, (iv) moving the energy-delivery electrode into the extended position piercing tissue in, at or near the pyloric sphincter, (v) delivering energy through the energy-delivery electrode to ablate tissue in, at, or near the pyloric sphincter to create a first lesion pattern, (vi) moving the energy-delivery electrode into the retracted position, (vii) axially advancing or retracting the expandable member to reposition the energy-delivery electrode with respect to the pyloric sphincter, and (viii) moving the energy-delivery electrode into the extended position piercing tissue in, at or near the pyloric sphincter, (ix) delivering energy through the energy-delivery electrode to ablate tissue in, at, or near the pyloric sphincter to create another lesion pattern, and (x) repeating (vi) to (ix) until a desired pattern of multiple lesions spaced apart axially along the pyloric sphincter is formed to affect tightening of the pyloric sphincter.