Importance

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Abstract

An endoscopic instrument for ligating multiple lesions within a hollow body organ. A flexible endoscope 10 is provided with a pair of tubular members 25, 26 affixed to the insertion end of the endoscope and a plurality of elastic ligating rings 50 are mounted side-by-side on one of the tubular members in uniformly spaced relationship. The endoscope is provided with longitudinally extending tubular passages comprising channels 16, 17 for accommodating means for illumination and viewing, a channel 18 for applying a suction force and a working channel 19. A flexible cable or wire 55 inserted through the working channel and connected at one end to one of the tubular members is movable for imparting relative motion between the tubular members in response to which an elastic ring 50 can be dislodged from the endoscope and placed in ligating relation to a lesion when the insertion end of the endoscope is oriented in surrounding relation to a target lesion and lesion tissue drawn into one of the tubular members by suction and whereby additional elastic rings can be sequentially dislodged and additional lesions similarly ligated during a single insertion of the instrument.

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First Claim