Patent ID: 6971395

Claim:
A method of forming a lesion pattern in submucosal tissue at or near a sphincter comprising providing a catheter having a plurality of tissue-piercing energy delivery devices coupled to the catheter and an expandable member carried by the catheter at a predetermined distance distal to the plurality of tissue-piercing energy delivery devices, advancing the catheter toward the sphincter until the expandable member is located in a tissue region distal to the sphincter, expanding the expandable member in the distal tissue region, pulling proximally upon the catheter until resistance to the pulling is encountered, wherein the plurality of tissue-piercing energy delivery devices are located at a desired position with respect to tissue at or near the sphincter, deploying the plurality of tissue-piercing energy delivery devices into submucosal tissue at or near the sphincter, and delivering energy from the tissue-piercing energy delivery devices to produce a plurality of submucosal lesions in submucosal tissue comprising the lesion pattern at or near the sphincter.