Patent ID: 8366707

Claim:
A system for use with a vacuum source for ablating a tissue of a heart, comprising: an engagement catheter comprising a proximal end, a distal end, and first and second lumens extending between the proximal end and the distal end; an external catheter comprising a distal end, an ablation contact positioned at or near the distal end of the external catheter, and a first magnet positioned at or near the distal end of the external catheter, wherein the external catheter is configured such that the external catheter is capable of at least partial insertion into the second lumen of the engagement catheter; an internal catheter comprising a distal end and a first magnet positioned at or near the distal end of the internal catheter, the internal catheter devoid of an ablation contact; and a vacuum port located at the proximal end of the engagement catheter, the vacuum port being operatively connected to the first lumen of the engagement catheter and capable of operative connection to the vacuum source; wherein the first lumen of the engagement catheter includes a suction port located at or near the distal end of the engagement catheter, the suction port being configured to removably attach to a targeted tissue on the interior of a wall of the heart, such that the suction port is capable of forming a reversible seal with the targeted tissue when the vacuum source is operatively attached to the vacuum port, wherein the internal catheter is configured for engaging the external catheter when a portion of the external catheter is positioned on or adjacent to an epicardial surface of the heart and a portion of the internal catheter is positioned on or adjacent to an endocardial surface of the heart, such that manipulation of the internal catheter is capable of directing the external catheter, and wherein the system is capable of enlarging a pericardial space between the targeted tissue and a pericardial sac that surrounds the heart by retracting the targeted tissue away from the pericardial sac; and wherein the internal catheter is configured for engaging the external catheter when a portion of the external catheter is positioned on or adjacent to the epicardial surface of the heart and a portion of the internal catheter is positioned on or adjacent the endocardial surface of the heart, such that manipulation of the internal catheter is capable of directing the external catheter so that the external catheter is operable to remove or destroy tissue at the first surface of the tissue at a location directed by the internal catheter; and wherein the external catheter is further operable to remove or destroy tissue at the epicardial surface at a second location directed by the internal catheter and along the epicardial surface between the first location and the second location without moving the internal catheter.