Full thickness resection device

1. A method of performing intralumenal full thickness resection of tissue, comprising the steps of:

inserting into a body lumen via a naturally occurring body orifice an operating head slidably received around a distal end of a flexible insertion tube, wherein the operating head includes:

a proximal-facing abutting surface;

a first optical device disposed on a distal portion of the operating head, the first optical device having a viewing area extending distally of the distal portion;

a working chamber extending within an exterior wall of the operating head, a first portion of the exterior wall being moveable with respect to a second portion thereof to selectively open the working chamber to an exterior of the operating head; and

a second optical device mounted within the working chamber with a viewing area extending distally therefrom;

sliding an insertion sheath over the flexible tube until a distal end of the insertion sheath contacts the abutting surface; and

moving the insertion sheath further into the body lumen to drive the operating head distally relative to the flexible insertion tube until the operating head is in a desired position relative to a distal end of the flexible insertion tube.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the flexible tube includes a steering mechanism to direct the operating head in a desired direction, the method further comprising the step of manipulating the steering mechanism based on visual data from the first optical device to guide the operating head to the desired location within the lumen.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the abutting surface is formed as a first fin disposed on a proximal end of the operating head.

4. The method according to claim 3 , wherein the operating head further comprises a second abutting surface formed on the proximal end of the operating head, wherein the second abutting surface is formed as a second fin on a portion of the proximal end disposed on an opposite side of a longitudinal axis of the operating head from the first fin.

5. The method according to claim 3 , wherein the first fin is substantially triangular in shape.

6. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising the step of sliding one of a proximal portion and the distal portion of the operating head relative to the other of the proximal and distal portions to open the working chamber to the exterior of the operating head.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the operating head further comprises a third optical device with a viewing area extending in a direction approximately perpendicular to that of the second optical device.

8. A method of performing intralumenal full thickness resection of tissue, comprising the steps of:

inserting into a body lumen via a naturally occurring body orifice an operating head slidably received over a distal end of a flexible insertion tube, wherein the operating head includes:

a first optical device disposed on a distal portion thereof, the first optical device having a viewing area extending distally of the distal portion;

a working chamber extending within an exterior wall of the operating head, a first portion of the exterior wall being moveable with respect to a second portion thereof to selectively open the working chamber to an exterior of the operating head; and

a second optical device mounted within the working chamber with a viewing area extending distally therefrom;

operating a propulsion system to move the operating head distally over the flexible insertion tube under visual guidance via the first optical device until the operating head is in a desired position relative to the distal end of the flexible insertion tube.

9. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the propulsion system is a crawler system.

10. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the propulsion system includes a flexible sheath slidably received around the flexible tube, and wherein the step of operating the propulsion system includes the substep of engaging the operating head with the distal end of the sheath to drive the operating head into the lumen.

11. The method according to claim 8 , further comprising the steps of:

moving, after the operating head has reached the desired position within the lumen, the first portion of the wall relative to the second portion to open the working chamber to an exterior of the operating head; and

viewing a portion of tissue to be resected using the second optical device.

12. The method according to claim 11 , further comprising the step of drawing a partial vacuum within the working chamber to draw the portion of tissue to be resected thereinto.

13. The method according to claim 12 , further comprising the steps of:

stapling together opposed portions of tissue adjacent to the tissue to be resected; and

resecting the tissue to be resected after the stapling step has been completed.

14. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the flexible tube is removable from the operating head.

15. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the flexible tube is permanently mounted to the operating head.