Patent ID: 8679146

Claim:
A method for performing surgery on a tendon of a patient comprising: providing a tool having a shaft having a distal end, a proximal end opposite the distal end, and a length between the distal and proximal ends of the shaft, the shaft being configured to pass at least in part through a tendon sheath, the shaft having a first cross section transverse to the length of the shaft having a convex upper surface configured to contact an upper surface of an interior surface of the tendon sheath, the first cross section of the shaft having a lower surface opposite the upper surface configured to contact one of a lower surface of the interior surface of the tendon sheath and an outer surface of the tendon, the shaft having a thickness perpendicular to the length of the shaft and between the upper and lower surfaces, the shaft having a width perpendicular to the thickness and the length of the shaft, the shaft increasing in thickness from said distal end of the shaft to said proximal end of the shaft over at least a portion of the length of the shaft, the shaft being formed of an elastic flexible material, the shaft having a first pre-insertion cross section along a portion of the length of the shaft that is configured to apply pressure to the inner surface of the tendon sheath when the tool is inserted into the sheath; inserting the distal end of the shaft of the tool into the tendon sheath so that at least a portion of the shaft applies radial pressure to the interior surface the tendon sheath, the shaft having a first post-insertion cross section that is smaller than the pre-insertion cross section as a result of the pressure applied to the shaft by the sheath; waiting a period of time for the material of the shaft to move toward the shape of the first pre-insertion cross section, the shaft having a second post-insertion cross section that is greater than the first post-insertion cross section as a result of the material of the shaft moving toward the shape of the pre-insertion cross section, each of the pre-insertion cross section and the first and second post-insertion cross sections being measured through the same plane perpendicular to the length of the shaft; and inserting the distal end of the shaft of the tool further into the tendon sheath so that a portion of the shaft having a larger cross section than the first pre-insertion cross section applies radial pressure to the interior surface of the tendon sheath to further dilate the tendon sheath.