Patent ID: 7794424

Claim:
The method of using a combination catheter having a catheter tube and an inner medical element, said combination catheter having a proximal end and a distal end, the method comprising: disposing a catheter tube in a human body, said catheter tube having a distal end portion fixed in a first curve such that the distal end portion of the catheter tube defines a first plane; disposing an inner medical element in the catheter tube, said inner medical element having a distal end; forming the combination catheter into a shape in which the distal end of the combination catheter is disposed substantially out of the first plane for a period of time sufficient to permit medical use of at least one of the catheter tube or the inner medical element; further including the step of positioning the combination catheter in a desired position, and using the combination catheter in a medical procedure while the distal end of the combination catheter is disposed substantially out of the first plane; further including the step of reforming the distal end of the catheter into a substantially different shape.