Integrated smoke evacuation electrosurgical pencil and method

• US 20090062791A1
• Filed: 08/30/2007
• Published: 03/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Conmed Corporation (Jefferies Financial Group, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Conmed Corporation (Jefferies Financial Group, Inc.)
• Inventors: Lee, Alan R., Biggs, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 8,057,470 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 606/45
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/1402 Probes for open surgery
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/1495 Electrodes being detachable from a support structure
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2218/008 for smoke evacuation

Abstract

An electrosurgical pencil includes an adjustable-length suction tube which surrounds a stationary electrode to evacuate smoke and electrosurgical byproducts from a surgical site. An electrode anchor unit is located within the interior of the suction tube to allow relative movement of the suction tube relative to a stationarily-retained electrode, and to receive and connect to different lengths of the electrodes. Adjusting the length of the suction tube relative to the different lengths of the electrode achieves effective evacuation, among other things.

Claims

1. An electrosurgical pencil for delivering electrical energy from an electrode to tissue at an electrosurgical site and for evacuating electrosurgical byproducts from the site created by delivering the electrical energy to the tissue, comprising:

a pencil housing;

a suction tube movably positioned at the housing and defining an interior passageway which surrounds the electrode and through which the byproducts are evacuated, the suction tube having a distal end which moves in extension and retraction outside of the housing and relative to the electrode and also having a proximal end which remains within the housing during movement of the suction tube;

an electrode anchor unit located stationarily relative to the housing within the interior passageway of the suction tube, the electrode anchor unit including having a socket member by which to connect and disconnect the electrode, the stationary location of the electrode anchor unit permitting the relative extension and retraction of the suction tube;

an airflow connector on the housing through which to communicate low-pressure air to the interior passageway of the suction tube for evacuating the byproducts from the surgical site; and

an electrical connector connected to the socket member by which to deliver the electrical energy to the electrode.

2. An electrosurgical pencil as defined in claim 1, wherein:

the socket member accepts and connects to electrodes having different lengths; and

the extent of extension and retraction movement of the suction tube is sufficient to position the distal end of the suction tube adjacent to a tip end of each of the different-length electrodes.

3. An electrosurgical pencil as defined in claim 2, wherein the electrode anchor unit comprises:

a collet member which supports the socket member, the collet member including contact structures which movably contact the suction tube within the interior passageway; and

an anchor rod extending from the collet member and the socket member through the interior passageway and connecting to the housing at a location beyond the proximal end of the suction tube to avoid interfering with the movement of the suction tube, the anchor rod maintaining the collet member and the socket member stationary relative to the housing during movement of the suction tube.

4. An electrosurgical pencil as defined in claim 3, wherein:

the anchor rod includes a forward end connected to the collet member and the socket member and a rear end connected to the housing, the connections at the forward and rearward ends of the anchor rod substantially inhibiting rotational movement of the collet member and the socket member relative to the housing within the interior passageway.

5. An electrosurgical pencil as defined in claim 4, wherein:

the anchor rod includes a middle portion between its forward end and its rear end; and

the forward end of the anchor rod includes an offset bend which creates a radial portion of the anchor rod, and the collet member includes a notch through which the radial portion of the forward end of the anchor rod extends by which to resist relative torsion between the middle portion of the anchor rod and the collet member and the socket member.

6. An electrosurgical pencil as defined in claim 5, wherein:

the rear end of the rod includes a bend which defines a radial portion; and

the housing includes a rod support socket located proximally of the proximal end of the suction tube which receives the radial portion of the rear end of the anchor rod by which to resist relative torsion between the middle portion of the anchor rod and the rear end of the anchor rod.

7. An electrosurgical pencil as defined in claim 3, wherein:

the anchor rod is electrically conductive and is included within the electrical connector which delivers the electrical energy to the electrode; and

the socket member is electrically conductive and conducts the electrical energy to the electrode.

8. An electrosurgical pencil as defined in claim 7, wherein:

the support structures of the collet member comprise a plurality of ribs extending radially outward from the collet member at circumferentially displaced locations around the collet member, spaces between the ribs permitting evacuation of the electrosurgical byproducts through the interior passageway.

9. An electrosurgical pencil as defined in claim 8, wherein:

one of the ribs extends radially outward from the collet member to a different extent than another one of the ribs;

the socket member positions the electrode to extend along a longitudinal axis which is offset from a center point of the interior passageway of the suction tube.

10. An electrosurgical pencil as defined in claim 7, wherein:

the collet member defines an interior opening which receives the socket member; and

the socket member includes a tang which contacts the interior opening to retain the socket member within the interior opening.

11. An electrosurgical pencil as defined in claim 10, wherein:

the interior opening of the collet member includes an internal ridge which protrudes into the interior opening;

a socket member includes a wing which is longitudinally displaced from the tang; and

the socket member is retained within the interior opening up the collet member by contact of the tang with one edge of the internal ridge and by contact of the wing with an opposite edge of the internal ridge.

12. An electrosurgical pencil as defined in claim 11, wherein:

the socket member further includes a clasp which folds around the forward end of the anchor rod.

13. A method of supporting an electrode in an electrosurgical pencil to deliver electrosurgical energy to tissue at an electrosurgical site while evacuating electrosurgical byproducts from the site created by delivering the electrical energy to the tissue, comprising:

movably positioning a suction tube within the pencil to surround the electrode and define an interior passageway around the electrode by which to evacuate the byproducts from the surgical site;

positioning an electrode anchor unit within the interior passageway of the suction tube to permit movement of the suction tube relative to the anchor unit;

stationarily anchoring the electrode anchor unit to the electrosurgical pencil to permit movement of the suction tube relative to the anchor unit;

connecting the electrode to the anchor unit;

extending and retracting the suction tube relative to the electrode connected to the anchor unit to establish a selected degree of exposure of the electrode beyond an end of the suction tube.

14. A method as defined in claim 13, further comprising:

communicating low-pressure air to the interior passageway of the suction tube for evacuating the byproducts from the surgical site; and

delivering the electrosurgical energy to the electrode connected to the anchor unit.

15. A method as defined in claim 14, further comprising:

connecting electrodes having different lengths to the anchor unit; and

extending and retracting the suction tube with respect to each of the different-length electrodes.

16. A method as defined in claim 13, further comprising:

using a collet member, a socket member and an anchor rod as part of the anchor unit;

supporting the collet member within the interior passageway by movable contact with the suction tube;

supporting the socket member within the collet member;

extending the anchor rod from the socket member and the collet member to the pencil to stationarily anchor the anchor unit without interfering with the movement of the suction tube; and

inserting an electrode into the socket member.

17. A method as defined in claim 16, further comprising:

substantially inhibiting rotational and longitudinal movement of the collet member and the socket member relative to the interior passageway.

18. A method as defined in claim 17, further comprising:

using bent ends of the anchor rod to inhibit rotational torsion of the collet member and the socket member relative to the pencil.

19. A method as defined in claim 16, further comprising:

conducting the electrosurgical energy through the anchor rod to the electrode.

20. A method as defined in claim 16, further comprising:

supporting the collet member by extending a plurality of ribs radially outward from the collet member at circumferentially displaced locations around the collet member; and

evacuating the electrosurgical byproducts through the interior passageway between the ribs.