Patent ID: 8221394

Claim:
A method of removing tissue from a subject using a cannula that has an interior cavity and an orifice configured to permit material to enter the interior cavity, the method comprising the steps of: generating a negative pressure in the interior cavity so that a portion of the tissue is drawn into the interior cavity via the orifice; delivering fluid, via a conduit, so that the fluid exits the conduit within the interior cavity and impinges against the portion of the tissue that was drawn into the interior cavity, wherein the fluid is delivered at a pressure and temperature that causes the tissue to soften, liquefy, or gellify; suctioning away the tissue that has been softened, liquefied, or gellified, wherein the fluid is delivered in pulses at a temperature between 100° F. and 140° F. and at a pressure between 600 and 1300 psi and the fluid is traveling in a substantially distal to proximal direction just before it impinges against the portion of the tissue that was drawn into the orifice; and wherein the orifice does not extend substantially around the outer circumference of the cannula.