Described herein is a positioning tool having an elongate portion for
carrying a medical implant. Also described is a method of positioning a
medical implant using an elongate positioning tool. One form of the
method includes positioning a medical implant on a distal portion of an
elongate positioning tool, inserting the positioning tool with the
implant thereon into a body cavity, manipulating the positioning tool to
position the implant into contact with tissue at an attachment location,
attaching the implant to surrounding tissue at the attachment location,
separating the implant from the positioning tool, and withdrawing the
positioning tool from the body. In a preferred embodiment, the position
of the implant is visually confirmed using an endoscope before the
implant is attached to surrounding tissue. In one embodiment, the implant
is a satiation device and the body cavity is the esophagus and/or
stomach. In an alternative embodiment, an expansion structure on the
distal end of the elongate portion expands and/or contracts the medical
implant to facilitate positioning.