Apparatus and methods to modulate bladder function

1. A method to modulate bladder function of a patient, comprising:

introducing a tissue ablation device through a vagina of the patient and into contact with a mucosal surface of an anterior wall of the vagina; and

delivering ablation energy from the tissue ablation device into non-superficial target tissue underneath the mucosal surface, thereby ablating the non-superficial target tissue, without ablating the mucosal surface, wherein the non-superficial target tissue is located within a trigone region of a urinary bladder wall of the patient.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the delivered ablation energy comprises at least one of microwave energy, laser energy, cryo energy, ultrasound energy, and electrocautery energy.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ablation of the non-superficial target tissue modulates nerve traffic to or from at least a portion of a urinary bladder of the patient.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ablation of the non-superficial target tissue modulates at least one of a sense of urinary urge, a sense of urgency, a sense of urinary pressure, urinary incontinence, urinary frequency, nocturia, bladder capacity, or pelvic pain.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising applying suction to the mucosal surface via a surface of the tissue ablation device, such that the mucosal surface conforms to the surface of the tissue ablation device while the ablation energy is delivered into the non-superficial target tissue via at least one energy delivery element of the tissue ablation device.

6. The method of claim 3 , further comprising repeating the delivery of ablation energy to create circular ablation patterns in the non-superficial target tissue around ureteral ostia of the urinary bladder, and an arc-like ablation pattern in the non-superficial target tissue located about a urethral ostium of the urinary bladder.

7. The method of claim 3 , further comprising repeating the delivery of ablation energy to create a linear ablation pattern in the non-superficial target tissue that circumscribes the trigone region of the urinary bladder.

8. The method of claim 3 , further comprising repeating the delivery of ablation energy to create an ablation pattern that substantially encompasses the trigone region of the urinary bladder.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising deploying at least one energy delivery element from the tissue ablation device through the mucosal surface and into the non-superficial target tissue of the urinary bladder wall, wherein the ablation energy is delivered into the non-superficial target tissue via the at least one energy delivery element.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the at least one energy delivery element comprises a plurality of energy delivery elements.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the at least one energy delivery element is deployed a predetermined depth from the tissue ablation device through the mucosal surface and into the non-superficial target tissue of the urinary bladder wall.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the at least one energy delivery element is deployed from the tissue ablation device in a direction parallel to the mucosal surface.

13. The method of claim 9 , wherein the at least one energy delivery element is deployed from the tissue ablation device in a direction perpendicular to the mucosal surface.