Method for treating outflow tracts

1. A method of treating an outflow tract that opens into a nasal passage of a subject using a balloon dilation catheter, the method comprising:

providing a balloon dilation catheter that includes

a handle defining a slot extending along a longitudinal exterior surface of the handle,

a substantially rigid inner guide member extending longitudinally from the handle,

a movable shaft coupled to a balloon and slidably mounted on the substantially rigid inner guide member, and

a balloon advancement member slidably disposed within the slot and configured to advance the shaft and the balloon in a distal direction over the substantially rigid inner guide member;

advancing the substantially rigid inner guide member into the outflow tract of the subject via the nasal passageway;

advancing the balloon advancement member in the distal direction while keeping the handle static relative to the outflow tract, wherein advancing the balloon advancement member places the balloon at a desired location in the outflow tract; and

inflating the balloon.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the shape of the substantially rigid inner guide member is adjusted prior to advancement to the desired location.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the shape is adjusted by replacing a substantially rigid inner guide member having a first shape with a substantially rigid inner guide member having a second shape.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the shape is adjusted by manually bending the substantially rigid inner guide member.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the substantially rigid inner guide member includes a lumen, the lumen being coupled to an aspiration source configured to aspirate the outflow tract.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein, prior to inflation of the balloon, the substantially rigid inner guide member includes a lumen and a guide wire is inserted into the lumen and advanced until a distal portion extends from a distal end of the substantially rigid inner guide member.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising re-positioning the substantially rigid inner guide member based at least in part on the location of the distal portion of the guide wire.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the handle comprises a distal stop configured to prevent continued distal advancement of the balloon.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the handle comprises an inflation port that is attached to a proximal end of the handle.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the balloon advancement member is advanced from a first proximal position to a second distal position and wherein the first proximal position and the second distal position are both distal with respect to the inflation port.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the balloon is inflated to a pressure within the range of about 3 atmospheres to about 12 atmospheres.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the balloon is inflated, deflated, and inflated a plurality of times.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the outflow tract is an outflow tract of a sinus cavity.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the sinus cavity is a sphenoid sinus cavity.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein the sinus cavity is a maxillary sinus cavity.

16. The method of claim 13 , wherein the sinus cavity is a frontal sinus cavity.

17. The method of claim 1 , further comprising tracking the movement of the substantially rigid inner guide member into the outflow tract using an image guided surgery system.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the image guided surgery system comprises a CT guidance system.