Patent ID: 7682364

Claim:
A method comprising selecting a bone for treatment having a cortical wall enclosing a cancellous bone volume, providing a void creation device adapted to be manipulated in the cancellous bone volume to form a void within cancellous bone, the void creation device comprising an expandable structure and a tube enclosed by and passing within the expandable structure, introducing the void creation device into the cancellous bone volume through a percutaneous access path along an access axis, deflecting the tube in the cancellous bone volume relative to the access axis after the void creation device has been introduced into the cancellous bone volume, expanding the expandable structure in the cancellous bone volume while the tube is deflected to create a void offset from the access axis and having a volume less than the cancellous bone volume, and placing a filling material within the void through the percutaneous access path, wherein the tube includes an interior lumen, further including providing a stylet having a preformed bend, and wherein deflecting the tube includes inserting the stylet into the interior lumen to bend the tube.