The Beth Israel Hospital Association

Advanced Surgical Intervention, Inc.

Lester A Klein

Jay Alan Lenker

Robert Rosenbluth

Barry M Calvarese

A urethral catheter having an adjustable dilating balloon length for dilating a prostatic urethra and a method for using same. The device includes a catheter to which a Foley balloon is affixed at the distal end, and to which a dilating balloon is annularly affixed, and includes means to independently expand and contract the balloons. Concentrically encompassing the catheter is a sheath or ring, which in one embodiment slides along the outside of the catheter. With the method of the present invention, the affected prostatic urethra is measured using a cystoscope and a calibrated catheter or other known measurement means. The sheath of an adjustable catheter of one embodiment of the present invention is set to the measured length by covering a portion of the dilating balloon with the sheath. The dilating catheter is inserted through the urethra until the balloon at the distal end is located within the bladder, at which point it is inflated and the dilating catheter is anchored in position. Then the dilating balloon is inflated to force the prostate away from the urethra. The dilating balloon may be left in place for periods of up to an hour or more to optimize the dilation effect, at which point the balloons are deflated and the dilating catheter is removed. With a further embodiment, the length of the dilating balloon is adjusted by severing portions of an adjustable length sheath to expose the length of balloon desired.

Adjustable urethral catheter and method for treating obstructive

The present invention is a method for treating obstructive prostatism in which a urethral catheter having a remotely fixed annular balloon is inserted into the urethra and urged therethrough until it is adjacent to the prostate gland. The annular balloon is inflated until the prostate has been forced back from around the urethra. A distally fixed Foley-type balloon may additionally be used to position the annular balloon with respect to the prostate. In the preferred embodiment, the distance between the bladder neck and the bottom of the prostate gland is first determined in order that the attending physician may use an annular balloon of the appropriate length, so as to optimize the effectiveness of the treatment. In order to measure this distance, a calibrated catheter is inserted through the urethra up into the bladder and then anchored at one end to the bladder neck by means of a balloon located at the distal end. A cystoscope may be used to read the markings on the calibrated catheter relative to the prostatic urethra, thereby providing an accurate means for determining the length of the annular balloon to be inserted for dilation. The length of the annular dilating balloon chosen is determined by the length of the prostate gland as measured from the calibrations. The cystoscope may also be used as the means by which both the calibrating catheter and the dilating annular balloon are inserted into the urethra. Multichannel or multi lumen cystoscopes are available for use in this process.

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Del Mar, CA, United States of America

Lester A Klein