| 摘要 |
A method is provided for ablating at least a portion of a nasal concha. By ablating at least a portion of a nasal concha, the size of the nasal concha is reduced. The three nasal concha in the body (inferior, middle and superior nasal concha) form at least a portion of the three nasal meatus (inferior, middle and superior nasal meatus) in the body. By reducing the size of a nasal concha, obstruction of a nasal meatus is reduced or eliminated. As a result, air flow through the nasal meatus is improved. In one embodiment, the method includes taking a catheter having a distal portion with an expandable member and an energy delivery device coupled to an energy source for delivering ablative energy and positioning the catheter distal portion through a nostril of a patient into a nasal meatus adjacent a surface of a nasal concha; expanding the expandable member within the nasal meatus so that the expandable member is brought into contact with the surface of the nasal concha; and delivering sufficient ablative energy from the energy delivery device to the nasal concha to ablate at least a portion of the nasal concha. |
