Patent ID: 7976543

Claim:
An electrosurgical vessel wall cutting tool adapted to be employed with a ground electrode in contact with the body of a patient and coupled to a source of RF energy for making an elongated slit through a vessel wall and into a lumen of a body vessel, having a vessel axis, of a patient that is surgically accessed in a surgical operating field comprising: an elongated tool body extending between a tool body proximal end and a tool body distal end; a connector element supported by the tool body adapted to be coupled with the source of RF energy; an elongated electrosurgical cutting electrode supported at the tool body distal end, the elongated electrosurgical cutting electrode having a predetermined cutting electrode length exceeding the cutting electrode width; an electrical conductor within the tool body extending between and coupled with the connector element and the elongated electrosurgical cutting electrode, whereby the elongated tool body is adapted to be manipulated to align and amply the cutting electrode length of the elongated electrosurgical cutting electrode against a surface of the vessel wall in substantially parallel alignment with the vessel axis so as to apply RF energy between the electrosurgical cutting electrode and the ground electrode at an energy level and for a duration sufficient to cut an elongated slit through the vessel wall where the elongated electrosurgical cutting electrode is applied to the surface of the vessel wall, wherein the ground electrode is supported by the tool body and adapted to penetrate through the vessel wall and into the lumen of the body vessel in proximity with the elongated electrosurgical cutting electrode applied to an outer surface of the vessel wall.