APPARATUS FOR THE DIATHERMIC REMOVAL OF GROWTHS

• US 3,805,791 A
• Filed: 06/23/1972
• Issued: 04/23/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/1971
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kurt Seuberth, Peter Deyhle
• Original Assignee: Kurt Seuberth, Peter Deyhle
• Inventors: Seuberth, Kurt, Deyhle, Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Laudenslager, Lucie H.
• Application Number:
  US05/265,806
• Time in Patent Office: 669 Days
• Field of Search: 128/303.14,303.15,303.16,304,305,130,310,3B 30/116
• US Class Current: 606/47
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/32056 Surgical snare instruments for removing or smashing calculi A61B2017/2212; tonsillotomes A61B17/26
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/14 Probes or electrodes therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/1492 having a flexible, catheter-like structure, e.g. for heart ablation A61B18/1477 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/1407 Loop
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/141 Snare

Abstract

The present apparatus is a so called polypectome for the diathermic removal of growths, such as polyps, especially from the intestinal tract, by means of a high frequency heated wire loop which is extended out of and pulled back into a flexible tubular member. A guide bushing for the wire loop is located at the outer end of the tubular member. The guide bushing comprises guide means therein which guides the loop so that it forms an oval in its extended position and substantially an eight in its retracted position. The wire loop has a bent tip having a diameter which is smaller than the inner diameter of the guide bushing to facilitate the controlled shaping of the loop.

Claims

1. In an apparatus for the diathermic removal of growths of the type comprising a tubular member, actuator means, flexible connecting means, and a wire loop having two arms, wherein the inner end of said arms is connected to said actuator means by said flexible connecting means extending through said tubular member to form a Bowden connection, wherein said loop has a bent tip interconnecting said two loop arms at the outer end thereof and wherein means are provided for supplying to said wire loop high frequency power, the improvement comprising a guide bushing located at an end of said tubular member remote from said actuator means and adjacent to said wire loop, said bushing comprising guide means for said loop, said bushing having a longitudinal bore therethrough, said bore having a given diameter, said bent tip having a diameter smaller than said given diameter, said guide means in the bushing controlling the shape of the loop as the loop is moved in and out of the bushing so that the bight formed at the outer end of the loop in its extended outer position has the shape of an oval and the size of said bight is reduced as the loop is pulled into the bushing.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said actuator means comprise a hollow body connected to said tubular member at its end remote from said wire loop, an actuator rod axially movable back and forth in said hollow body, said actuator rod having an inner end connected to said flexible connecting means extending through said tubular member, said actuator rod including an outer end extending out of said hollow body and handle means attached to said outer end of the actuator rod.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said actuator rod has a piston attached to its inner end for sliding back and forth in said hollow body, sealing means between said piston and said hollow body for closing an inner chamber in said hollow body against the outer end of the hollow body, an inlet port in said hollow body for connecting said inner chamber to a source of a protective gas and gas outlet aperture means in said bushing adjacent to said wire loop whereby an uninterrupted and substantially closed gas conduit is provided from said inlet port through said chamber and tubular member to said aperture means in the bushing.

4. The apparatus accOrding to claim 2, wherein said actuator rod has a longitudinal bore therethrough, means at said outer end of the actuator rod for connecting said bore to a source of a protective gas, sealing means between said actuator rod and said hollow body to provide an inner chamber in said hollow body between the inner end of the actuator rod and the tubular member, and gas outlet aperture means in said bushing adjacent to said wire loop whereby an uninterrupted and substantially closed gas conduit is provided from said bore in the actuator rod through said chamber and tubular member to said aperture means in said bushing.

5. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said actuator rod includes conductor means, insulating means for electrically insulating said handle means from said conductor means, said flexible connecting means between said wire loop and said actuator rod comprising an electrical conductor and connector means at the outer end of said actuator rod for connecting a source of high frequency power through said actuator rod and through said flexible connecting conductor to said wire loop.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said bent tip at the outer end of the wire loop has the shape of a semicircle, the diameter of which is smaller than said given inner diameter of said bushing.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said guide means of said bushing comprise a chamfer extending along the outer end of said bushing to surround said longitudinal bore through the bushing at the outer end thereof.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said guide means of said bushing comprise a further chamfer extending along the inner end of said bushing to surround said longitudinal bore through the bushing at the inner end thereof.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said bushing is inserted into said tubular member with a snug fit.