| 摘要 |
A guide sheath is implanted to facilitate repeated access to a treatment site in a patient's body by a treatment device such as a probe for administering light therapy. The guide sheath reduces the risk of track contamination with bacteria, bleeding during insertion of the treatment device or a treatment evaluation probe, track metastasis, and inadvertent puncture of structures and tissues within the patient's body. The guide sheath is disposed so that its distal end is at or adjacent to the internal treatment site, and the proximal end of the guide sheath is either percutaneous or subcutaneous. The guide sheath is a thin-walled hollow tube that may be optically transparent or opaque. In one embodiment, the guide sheath has a flared opening on the proximal end to assist in inserting the treatment device into the guide sheath. This opening is covered with an self-sealing, elastomeric membrane. It is preferable to fabricate the guide sheath from a biodegradable material that will not require surgical removal. After it is no longer needed to facilitate advancing a treatment device toward the treatment site, the guide sheath can then be left in the patient's body and simply biodegrades and is absorbed. A method for inserting and a method for using the guide sheath are also disclosed.
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