Abstract: Surgical apparatus and associated methods of use are provided for enhancing the functional life-span of medical implants and for facilitating their implantation, particularly for medical devices designed to support anatomical structures. The apparatus comprises a reinforcing fastener guide for fixedly mounting or interlocking onto the surface of a medical device such as a urethral sling or the like. Formed of surgical grade metals or plastics, the attached reinforcing fastener guide defines an easily identified location for the implanting surgeon to position one or more surgical fasteners, such as a suture, to the patient's body in order to permanently position the medical implant. This greatly simplifies and shortens the implantation protocol while substantially reducing undesirable mechanical stresses within the implant at these attachment points, thereby increasing the useful life of the implanted medical device.

Abstract: A balloon transporter device, system and method for its use in deploying a detachable balloon at a target site in a patient is disclosed. The device includes an elongated tube having an inner lumen, an outer circumference and at least one opened end. The inner lumen is sized to receive a detachable balloon, and a proximal end adapted to retractably associate with a balloon delivery device. Alternatively, the device includes a housing configured as a truncated cone, the housing having an inner channel with decreasing diameters sized to accommodate a deflated balloon at its largest diameter and a catheter tip at its narrowest diameter. The balloon transporter protects the detachable balloon as well as aids in the application or loading of the detachable balloon onto a catheter tip. The balloon transporter further includes properties that increase the ease of use and stability of the device so as to reduce the effort required by the user during loading of a detachable balloon onto a delivery device.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for placing a bladder output control device is disclosed in which a tool has a surface which receives the bladder output control device and holds it for accurate placement of the device on the body of a user. The tool includes an illumination device mounted internal to the tool and provides illumination used in placement of the bladder output control device. The tool further includes a mirrored surface to enable better visualization of where the bladder output control device is located relative to its target location during placement of the device on the body of the user.

Abstract: A valve movable between open and closed positions is described. The valve preferably has an integral hinge and includes an inherent bias toward the closed position. The valve is particularly suitable as a component of an article for treating urinary incontinence.

Abstract: Surgical apparatus and associated methods of use are provided for enhancing the functional life-span of medical implants and for facilitating their implantation, particularly for medical devices designed to support anatomical structures. The apparatus comprises a reinforcing fastener guide for fixedly mounting or interlocking onto the surface of a medical device such as a urethral sling or the like. Formed of surgical grade metals or plastics, the attached reinforcing fastener guide defines an easily identified location for the implanting surgeon to position one or more surgical fasteners, such as a suture, to the patient's body in order to permanently position the medical implant. This greatly simplifies and shortens the implantation protocol while substantially reducing undesirable mechanical stresses within the implant at these attachment points, thereby increasing the useful life of the implanted medical device.

Abstract: A substrate is permanently bonded to a thermoplastic member by applying a sufficient degree of heat and pressure. Thermoplastic is notoriously non-receptive to even the most aggressive adhesives. As such, it has been extremely difficult to attach non-plastic components to thermoplastic products. To avoid this problem, the thermoplastic product is heated, on one side, to a temperature just below its melting point. A substrate, made of a material such as polyethylene, is placed against the non-heated side of the thermoplastic. As heat passes through the thermoplastic, it heats and eventually melts a portion of the substrate. Ideally pressure is applied to force the melted material against the substrate. The materials are then allowed to cool and harden, thus forming a permanent bond between them. Additional materials may be coupled to the substrate, as desired.

Abstract: A valve for a body orifice is a tube formed of a flexible polymer with an inlet fixed across the orifice and an outlet away from the orifice. A flange is about the inlet to interface with the orifice. A passage in the tube extends from the inlet along an axis. A wall of the tube is between the inlet and the outlet and has a barrel shape tapered to the inlet and the outlet and wider therebetween. The wall extends between an inside and an outside. A hinge about the tube is in the wall at the barrel shape. The hinge is an area of preferential bending so the tube is either a barrel or flipped with the outlet folded about the hinge into the passage. The outlet has holes through the wall with each in a plane substantially normal to the axis and away from the inlet and axially beyond the hinge.

Abstract: The apparatus for closing a body orifice. The apparatus includes a valve having a flexible bulbous tube with an inlet and outlet. A passage in the bulbous tube extends from the inlet along an axis. A wall of the tube is between the inlet and the outlet and has a barrel shape tapered to the inlet and outlet and wider therebetween. The wall extends between an inside and an outside. A hinge is located in the wall where the barrel shape wall defines the passage, and the hinge is an area of preferential bending so the bulbous tube is either a barrel or flipped with the outlet folded about the hinge into the passage. The outlet has holes through the wall. A seat within the bulbous tube is on the inside of the wall in the passage to engage the outlet when the tube is flipped into the passage by bending the hinge acutely as the outlet is moved along the axis to the inlet and against the seat.