| abstract |
A catheter-cutter for aorto-coronary bypass graft cutting of vein valves within a vein graft and for the in-situ bypass vein graft cutting of the valves within a vein includes at-least-one arcuate razor-sharp, tip-angle-edged cutting blade element (14) extending from the open distal end of the catheter (10), the at-least-one cutting blade element (14) being fixed or selectively extendable from the distal end of the catheter by optional control means (26) carried at the proximal port of the catheter, the at-least-one cutting blade element (14) being effective to cleanly excise and clearly cut a valve, the catheter optionally including a fiberoptic viewer (82) for observing the cutting process and optionally including a selectively inflatable balloon (50) about the catheter tube at its very distal end to accurately fix the position of the at-least-one cutting blade element and also to act as a buffer, if desired, during catheter insertion and manipulation while the catheter tube is being negotiated in a forward direction within the vein being modified. |