Patent ID: 7449022

Claim:
An electrosurgical tissue cutting device, comprising: a) a housing which has a proximal end, a distal end, a distal portion extending proximally from the distal end, an electrically insulating and electrode supporting ceramic bushing fixed within the distal portion suitable for high frequency electrical contact, and an inner lumen extending within the housing and through the insulating bushing; b) an elongated electrosurgical tissue cutting electrode assembly which is slidably disposed in part within the inner lumen of the housing and the insulating bushing, which has an electrical power transmission member with a distal portion passing through the proximal end of the housing, which has an elongated electrosurgical tissue cutting electrode with proximal and distal ends and a manually shapeable, uninsulated distal portion of at least 0.5 inch in length and less than 0.030 inch in transverse dimension at the distal portion extending through the inner lumen of the insulating ceramic bushing and out of the housing and in contact with and supported by the ceramic bushing to facilitate a tissue cutting motion transverse to the uninsulated distal portion of the electrosurgical tissue cutting electrode and which has a connector secured to the distal portion of the electrical power transmission member extending into the housing lumen and the proximal end of the electrosurgical electrode to effect an electrical connection therebetween; and c) an axial translation member configured to slidably adjust the position of the electrosurgical tissue cutting electrode assembly within the inner lumen of the housing to adjust the length of the bare, uninsulated distal portion of the elongated electrosurgical tissue cutting electrode that can be extended out of the insulated ceramic bushing.