Admissibility of the referral (yes)،
Applicable provisions - Art. 112(1) EPC 1973 - Art. 53(c) EPC،
The Vienna Convention - principle of narrow interpretation of exclusions (no)،
One surgical step in a multi-step method - excluded from patentability (yes)،
Limited to surgery for a therapeutic purpose (no)،
Meaning of the wording of the exclusion - legal history - impact of jurisprudence and practice - ratio legis،
Nature of interventions - involvement of a practitioner (no)،
Medical skills and health risks - further criteria،
Claim left to encompass a surgical step (no)،
Disclaimer under Article 53(c) EPC (yes) subject to remaining requirements of EPC،
Omission - methods only concerning the internal operation of a device (yes) subject to remaining requirements of the EPC،
Possible use of non-surgical method in a surgical method - irrelevant, if non-surgical method complete teaching in itself