SYSTEM FOR PROSTATE TREATMENT WHILE PREVENTING URETHRAL CONSTRICTION

摘要

Tissue surrounding a bodily conduit, such as a urethra (10), is thermally treated while preventing restrictions of the bodily conduit due to heat-induced shrinkage of collagen rich tissue surrounding the bodily conduit. A select volume of collagen-containing tissue surrounding the urethra (10) is heated to destroy the tissue and to cause the tissue to be capable of being plastically remodeled into a selected shape. The selected shape is defined while the tissue is heated, and the tissue is allowed to cool while continuing to define the selected shape to cause plastic remodeling of the tissue into the selected shape. The system also performs a thermal therapy treatment without causing the surrounding tissue to exceed a collagen transition temperature of the tissue during the heating step of the treatment session.