Surgical retractor elements and assembly
First Claim
1. A surgical retractor assembly for holding a surgical incision open with body tissues held clear of a desired internal surgical area, comprising:
- a retractor frame;
at least one resilient retractor paddle on the retractor frame adapted to extend from the frame into the incision;
said paddle including a paddle body having a front face adapted to engage the body tissues along the incision and an opposed back face adapted to face the desired surgical area;
said front and back faces extending laterally outward and downward from the frame to side and bottom edges; and
wherein said paddle body is formed of a single soft non-metallic scissile material of sufficient resiliency with a flexural modulus of elasticity of between 1,000 psi and 75,000 psi throughout the cross section of the paddle body to allow the front face thereof to progressively bend resiliently from an original undeflected orientation into an arc transversely between the side edges in response to opposing forces applied to the paddle body as the retractor assembly is moved to open the incision, to thereby distribute applied forces over surfaces of the front face to minimize stress concentrations between the said paddle body and body tissues engaged thereby and to allow the body to return to its original orientation as the opposing forces are released as the front face of the paddle body is disengaged from the body tissues.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Surgical retractor elements and assemblies are described for holding open a surgical incision to expose the surgical area and to keep uninvolved tissues away from the surgical area without causing undue trauma to the engaged tissues. A self-retaining form includes a ring frame and a plurality of paddle assemblies angularly spaced about the ring for engaging and holding back uninvolved tissues. The paddle assemblies have arms that slide radially through a slot in the ring frame. Each of the retractor assemblies includes a paddle of a soft, resilient flexible material for flexing to prevent stress concentrations. The paddle members have a flexural modulus of elasticity between 1,000 psi and 75,000 psi. One form of paddle is provided to slidably fit over the existing blade of a hand-held retractor. Another form of assembly includes a soft, resilient paddle mounted to a hand-held handle frame. The handle includes two angularly offset gripping sections that can be comfortably gripped and held by an assistant for long periods of time.
219 Citations
41 Claims
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1. A surgical retractor assembly for holding a surgical incision open with body tissues held clear of a desired internal surgical area, comprising:
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a retractor frame; at least one resilient retractor paddle on the retractor frame adapted to extend from the frame into the incision; said paddle including a paddle body having a front face adapted to engage the body tissues along the incision and an opposed back face adapted to face the desired surgical area; said front and back faces extending laterally outward and downward from the frame to side and bottom edges; and wherein said paddle body is formed of a single soft non-metallic scissile material of sufficient resiliency with a flexural modulus of elasticity of between 1,000 psi and 75,000 psi throughout the cross section of the paddle body to allow the front face thereof to progressively bend resiliently from an original undeflected orientation into an arc transversely between the side edges in response to opposing forces applied to the paddle body as the retractor assembly is moved to open the incision, to thereby distribute applied forces over surfaces of the front face to minimize stress concentrations between the said paddle body and body tissues engaged thereby and to allow the body to return to its original orientation as the opposing forces are released as the front face of the paddle body is disengaged from the body tissues. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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11. The surgical retractor assembly as claimed by claim 11 wherein the plurality of angularly spaced ratchet pawls are formed integrally with the ring member through flexible web sections to bias the pawls into engagement with the ratchet shoulder surfaces.
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32. A surgical retractor paddle element mountable to a retractor frame for holding a surgical incision open with body tissues held clear of a desired surgical area, comprising:
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a paddle body of a single soft resilient scissile material having a front face and an opposed back face defined by opposed side edges, joined by extended opposed top and bottom edges; said paddle body having a flexural modulus of elasticity of between 1,000 psi and 75,000 psi throughout the cross section of the paddle body that is capable of flexing resiliently in an arc transversely between the side edges in response to opposing forces applied to the paddle body as the paddle element is moved to open the incision to thereby distribute applied forces over the front face to minimize stress concentrations between the paddle body and the engaged body tissues; and mounting means along one face thereof adapted to secure the paddle body to a retractor frame. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. A surgical retractor assembly for holding a surgical incision open with body tissues held clear of a desired internal surgical area, comprising:
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a ring member adapted to surround a major portion of the incision; a plurality of arm members adjustably mounted on the ring member; a plurality of retractor paddles mounted on the arm members adapted to extend into the incision; each of said paddles including a paddle body having a front face adapted to engage the body tissues along the incision and an opposed back face adapted to face the desired surgical area; said front and back faces extending laterally outward and downward from each arm member to side and bottom edges; a releasable one-directional ratchet and pawl locking means operatively interconnecting the arm member and the ring member to enable the arm members to be moved radially outward relative to the ring member to desired positions by applying outward radial force on the arm members and to prevent inadvertent inward radial movement of the arm members; and wherein said ratchet and pawl locking means include pawls that are formed integrally with the ring member and include a flexible web section that biases the pawls into engagement with ratchet teeth formed on the arm members. - View Dependent Claims (41)
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Specification