Rotatable surgical snare

• US 5,066,295 A
• Filed: 05/13/1986
• Issued: 11/19/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/1986
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mill-Rose Laboratories Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Mill-Rose Laboratories Incorporated
• Inventors: Nichols, Michael, Kozak, Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): Hindenburg, Max
• Application Number:
  US06/862,683
• Time in Patent Office: 2,016 Days
• Field of Search: 128/4-8, 128/303.1, 128/303.13-303.17, 128/751, 128/755, 128/309, 128/321-324, 403/DIG. 4, 403/315, 403/319, 403/325, 403/341, 403/348, 403/349, 403/353
• 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 2018/1407 Loop

Abstract

The invention provides an improved surgical snare having an operating cable freely rotatable while the handle is maintained steady, having a rotating assembly mounted in the handle so that the axis of rotation of the assembly is essentially coaxial with the longitudinal axis of the handle and having a quick disconnect-connect means for attaching the operating cable to the rotating assembly without external clamping means.

Claims

1. In an endoscopic snare having a sheath, an electrically conducting cable with a snare at a distal end movable into and out of the sheath and a manual operating assembly attached to the sheath and to a proximal end of the cable, the improvement wherein the manual operating assembly comprises an elongated holder having a body portion, and a cable actuator, said body portion having a central longitudinal recess open through two opposite sides to define a pair of parallel guides upon which the actuator is slidably mounted, said pair of parallel guides each having an interiorly facing arcuate surface, said cable actuator having an electrically conducting snare-rotating member between said parallel guides, said snare-rotating member partially encircled by the interiorly facing arcuate surfaces of said parallel guides, said snare-rotating member and the proximal end of the cable each having means cooperating to form a quick disconnect connection wholly within said snare-rotating member, and said elongated holder, snare-rotating member and cable being constructed and arranged to have a common longitudinal axis.

2. The endoscopic snare as claimed in claim 1 wherein the body portion is rectangular in cross-section and wherein the central longitudinal recess opens through the two wider opposite sides of the rectangular body.

3. The endoscopic snare as claimed in claim 2 wherein the cable actuator has a transverse rectangular recess for slidably receiving the body portion of the manual operating assembly.

4. The endoscopic snare as claimed in claim 3 wherein the electrically conducting snare-rotating member comprises a block having a bore located within and retained against rotation by the rectangular recess of the cable actuator, and a cylindrical shaft rotatably held within the bore of the block.

5. The endoscopic snare as claimed in claim 4 wherein the cylindrical shaft has a cylindrical knob extending beyond a distal face of the actuator and having a diameter so as to protrude from opposite sides of the central longitudinal recess in the two wider opposite sides of the rectangular body.

6. The endoscopic snare as claimed in claim 4 wherein the actuator and the block have means communicating there through to connect the block to the actuator and to make sliding electric contact with the rotably held cylindrical shaft.

7. The endoscopic snare as claimed in claim 6 wherein the means connecting the block to the actuator and making contact with the shaft comprises a contact post received through a first recess in the actuator and threadly received in a second recess in the block, and a spring retained within the contact post extending out of the post and in sliding contact with the shaft.

8. The endoscopic snare as claimed in claim 1 wherein the means cooperating to form the quick-disconnect connection comprises a cylindrical transverse rod located near the proximal end of the cable and further comprises an elliptical recess transversely centrally located in a distal face of the snare-rotating member, said recess communicating with at least one locking groove, and a spring biased member retained in the shaft of the snare-rotating member and located to releasably engage the rod in the groove.

9. The endoscopic snare as claimed in claim 1 wherein the proximal end of the body has a thumb ring and each one of the lateral sides of the actuator has a finger ring, said thumb ring and finger rings being coplanar with each other, with the elongated holder, and with the electrically conducting snare-rotating member.

10. In a endoscopic snare having a sheath, an electrically conducting cable with a snare at a distal end movable into and out of the sheath and a manual operating assembly attached to the sheath and to a proximal end of the cable, the improvement wherein the manual operating assembly comprises an elongated holder having a rectangular body portion, a thumb ring, and a cable actuator, said body portion having a central longitudinal recess open through the two wider opposite sides of the rectangular body to define a pair of parallel guides upon which the actuator is slidably mounted, said parallel guides having cylindrically curved interior surfaces, said actuator having a finger ring on each one of two lateral sides and a transverse rectangular recess, an electrically conducting snare-rotating member located with said actuator, said snare-rotating member comprising a block journaled to receive a snare rotating shaft attached for relative rotation, said block and shaft slidable between said curved interior surfaces by means of said actuator, said block retained against rotation within the recess in said actuator, said snare-rotating shaft having a distally facing manual rotating knob extending beyond the distal face of the actuator and out of the opposite sides of the recess, said rotating knob and the proximal end of the cable each having means cooperating to form a spring biased detent-like connection, said elongated holder, electrically conducting, snare-rotating member and cable defining a common longitudinal axis, and said thumb and finger rings being coplanar with each other and with the holder.

11. In an endoscopic snare having a sheath, an electrically conducting cable with a snare at a distal end movable into and out of the sheath and a manual operating assembly attached to the sheath and to a proximal end of the cable, the improvement wherein the manual operating assembly comprises an elongated holder having a body portion, and a cable actuator, said body portion having a central longitudinal recess open through two opposite sides to define a pair of parallel guides upon which the actuator is slidably mounted, said actuator having an electrically conducting snare-rotating member between said parallel guides, said snare-rotating member and the proximal end of the cable each having means cooperating to form a quick disconnect connection, wherein said elongated holder, snare-rotating member and cable are constructed and arranged to have a common longitudinal axis and wherein said means cooperating to form the quick-disconnect connection comprises a cylindrical transverse rod located near the proximal end of the cable and further comprises an elongated recess transversely centrally located in a distal face of the snare-rotating member, said recess communicating with at least one locking groove, and a spring biased member retained in the shaft of the snare-rotating member and located to releasably engage the rod in the groove.

12. In an endoscopic snare having a sheath, a cable with a snare at a distal end movable into and out of the sheath and a manual operating assembly attached to the sheath and to the proximal end of the cable, the improvement wherein the manual operating assembly comprises a cable actuator having a snare-rotating member, and the proximal end of the cable and said snare-rotating member each have means cooperating to form a quick disconnect connection, wherein said actuator, snare-rotating member, and cable have a common longitudinal axis and wherein the means cooperating to form the quick disconnect connection comprises a transverse rod located near the proximal end of the cable and further comprises an elongated recess transversely centrally located in a distal face of the snare-rotating member, said recess communicating with at least one locking groove, and a spring biased member retained in the shaft of the snare-rotating member located to releasably engage the rod in the groove.

13. The endoscopic snare as claimed in claim 12 wherein said recess communicates with a pair of locking grooves located normal to the elongated recess, and 180°

apart from one another.

14. In an endoscopic snare having a sheath, a cable within the sheath, said cable having a snare at a distal end, and a manual operating assembly attached to the sheath and attached to the proximal end of the cable via a cable actuator for moving the distal end of the cable into and out of the sheath, improvement wherein the cable actuator comprises a snare-rotating member, and the proximal end of the cable and said snare-rotating member each have means cooperating to form a quick disconnect connection wholly within said snare-rotating member, said means being constructed and arranged to be accessible for disconnection regardless of the rotational position of the snare rotating member, wherein the means cooperating to form the quick disconnect connection comprises a transverse rod located near the proximal end of the cable, an elliptical recess transversely centrally located in a distal face of the snare-rotating member, said recess communicating with at least one locking groove, a spring biased member retained in the shaft of the snare-rotating member located to releasably engage the rod in the groove, and said manually operating assembly actuator, snare-rotating member, and cable being essentially coplanar.

15. The endoscopic snare as claimed in claim 14 wherein said recess communicates with a pair of locking grooves located normal to the elliptical recess and 810°

apart from one another.