Apparatus and methods for treating female urinary incontinence

1. Apparatus for remodeling a treatment site within the urinary tract of a female patient, the urinary tract including a urethra having a urethral lumen and a bladder having a bladder outlet, the apparatus comprising:

an elongated shaft having a proximal end, a distal end and a distal region disposed adjacent to the distal end; a handle coupled to the proximal end;

an expandable member affixed to the distal region in the vicinity of the distal end, the expandable member adapted to be deployed in the bladder and anchored against the bladder outlet;

means for selectively forming a localized inward protrusion of the urethral wall; and

a needle disposed to penetrate the urethral wall in the vicinity of the localized inward protrusion to inject a bulking agent at the interface of the mucosal and submucosal layers.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the means for forming comprises a diametrally stepped portion of the distal region.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the diametrally stepped portion comprises an enlarged diameter proximal portion and a smaller diameter distal portion.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the means for forming further comprises a suction port.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the means for forming further comprises a barb disposed on a distal end of the needle.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein a distal portion of the needle is curved in the deployed position.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the needle comprises a shape-memory material.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the needle includes an injection port disposed in a lateral surface of the needle.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the expandable member comprises a balloon.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a rod slidably disposed in a lumen of the elongated shaft, wherein the expandable member comprises an expandable basket coupled to the rod, so that proximal retraction of the rod with respect to the elongated shaft causes the expandable basket to deploy.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the proximal end of the elongated shaft further comprises a plurality of indicia suitable for use in positioning the distal region within the urethra.

12. A method for remodeling a treatment site within the urinary tract of a female patient, the urinary tract including a urethra having a urethral lumen and a bladder having a bladder outlet, the method comprising:

providing apparatus comprising a handle and an elongated shaft coupled to the handle, the elongated shaft having a distal region and a needle, the distal region comprising an expandable member;

inserting the elongated shaft into the urethra until the expandable member is positioned within the bladder;

locating the needle at a position within the urethra;

deploying the expandable member within the bladder;

retracting the handle proximally to seat the expandable member against the bladder outlet;

moving the needle to penetrate the urethral wall;

injecting a bulking agent at an interface between the mucosal and submucosal layers of the urethral wall to cause localized narrowing of the urethral lumen; and

forming a localized inward protrusion of the urethral wall prior to injecting the bulking agent.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein forming a localized inward protrusion of the urethral wall comprises applying suction to a portion of the urethral wall via a suction port disposed in the distal region of the elongated shaft.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising monitoring the output of the suction port to determine whether bulking agent is being delivered within the urethral lumen.

15. The method of claim 12 wherein the needle further comprises a distal tip having a barb, and moving the needle to penetrate tissue in the vicinity of the localized inward protrusion of the urethral wall facilitates separation at the interface between the mucosal layer from the submucosal layer.

16. The method of claim 12 wherein deploying the expandable member comprises inflating a balloon.