Intracorporeal catheter placement apparatus and method

A fiberoptic stylet apparatus for assisting in the safe and effective intracorporeal placement of catheters comprises an elongate, light-emitting fiberoptic cable coupled to a conventional stylet body in a parallel alignment therewith. The distal extremities of the cable and stylet are positioned adjacent one another. A surgeon inserts the fiberoptic cable/stylet coupling into a catheter in much the same manner as a conventional stylet, so that the adjacent distal extremities reside within the catheter tip. A light source connected to the fiberoptic cable is activated to cause said cable to emit light which passes through the catheter tip. When the surgeon inserts the catheter into the coronary sinus or other body cavity of a patient, the light passes through the translucent tissue surrounding the catheter tip. This permits the surgeon to actually see the position of the catheter tip relative to its organic surroundings and thus enables the surgeon to position the catheter without stretching, tearing or puncturing the walls of the coronary sinus or other delicate objects.