Patent ID: 7842035

Claim:
A method of occluding the ovarian pathway of a female body, said method comprising the steps of: providing a device comprising a catheter body defining a proximal end and a distal end, a wounding segment extending distally from the distal end of the catheter body and movable relative to the catheter body between an extended position and a retracted position, a heating element disposed on or about the wounding segment, and at least one plug housed within the wounding segment and sized and dimensioned to be implanted into a target segment within the ovarian pathway; inserting the catheter body and wounding segment into the ovarian pathway; applying the heating element to a target segment of the pathway, and operating the heating element to heat the target segment; and maintaining both the catheter body and at the least one plug stationary relative to the target segment while simultaneously (i) moving the wounding segment relative to the catheter body from the extended position toward the retracted position and (ii) exposing and implanting said stationary plug within the target segment of the pathway.