Patent ID: 8491620

Claim:
A method, comprising: inserting a dilator and sheath access assembly into a patient, the assembly having a first conduit, a member coaxially surrounding a first section of the first conduit and capable of expansion, and a second conduit coaxially surrounding a second section of the first conduit, the first conduit having a distal end portion and a proximal end portion, the proximal end portion of the first conduit having a coupling member, the second conduit having a distal end portion and a proximal end portion, the proximal end portion of the second conduit having a coupling member, the inserting including inserting the first conduit and the second conduit into the patient while the second conduit coaxially surrounds the second section of the first conduit and the coupling member of the first conduit is coupled to the coupling member of the second conduit; advancing the assembly through a body vessel to dilate tissue of the body vessel; expanding, without removal of the assembly from the body vessel, the member to alleviate a blockage in the body vessel; applying, after the expanding, a force in a proximal direction by pulling the assembly such that the member becomes lodged within a renal pelvis of a kidney of the patient to verify placement of the assembly; decoupling the coupling member of the first conduit from the coupling member of the second conduit, the decoupling includes moving a tab of the coupling member of the first conduit towards a longitudinal axis of the dilator and sheath access assembly such that the tab disengages a portion of the coupling member of the second conduit; and retracting the first conduit from the body vessel such that the second conduit remains in the body vessel.