Surgical tool

• US 5,395,312 A
• Filed: 05/10/1993
• Issued: 03/07/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 10/18/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Allegiance Healthcare Corp. (Cardinal Health, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Ashvin Desai
• Inventors: Desai, Ashvin
• Primary Examiner(s): Lewis, Ralph A.
• Application Number:
  US08/060,576
• Time in Patent Office: 666 Days
• Field of Search: 604/21, 604/22, 604/30, 604/33, 604/34, 604/35, 604/151, 604/152, 604/153, 604/902, 606/39, 606/40, 606/41, 606/45, 606/46, 606/47, 606/159, 606/171
• US Class Current: 604/22
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/00234 for minimally invasive surgery A61B17/0218, A61B17/0469, A61B17/12013, A61B17/1285, A61B17/29, A61B17/320016 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/3498 Valves therefor, e.g. flapper valves, slide valves haemostasis valves A61M39/06; check valves A61M39/24
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/14 Probes or electrodes therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/1477 Needle-like probes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/1482 having a long rigid shaft for accessing the inner body transcutaneously in minimal invasive surgery, e.g. laparoscopy
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/149 bow shaped or with rotatable body at cantilever end, e.g. for resectoscopes, or coagulating rollers
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00464 for use with different instruments
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/22072 with an instrument channel, e.g. for replacing one instrument by the other
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/0091 Handpieces of the surgical instrument or device
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00916 with means for switching or controlling the main function of the instrument or device
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00982 combined with or comprising means for visual or photographic inspections inside the body, e.g. endoscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/1253 monopolar
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/126 bipolar
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/1425 Needle
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2218/002 Irrigation
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2218/007 Aspiration
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/772 operating alternately
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/774 Handpieces specially adapted for providing suction as well as irrigation, either simultaneously or independently
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/0601 Apparatus for use inside the body
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/062 Photodynamic therapy, i.e. excitation of an agent

Abstract

A handheld surgical instrument consists of a housing capable of being hand held and including a front end to which a surgical tool is mounted. The tool can be used for electrosurgery and includes a conduit for irrigating or evacuating an interior portion of the body of a patient. The instrument also includes a chamber for temporarily retaining irrigation fluid and from which the fluid can be supplied along the conduit to the body of the patient. Drive means mounted to the housing acts on the chamber to move fluid from the chamber along the conduit to the body of the patient. The instrument also includes a fluid supply for supplying irrigation fluid to the chamber. In operation, the drive means acts to alternately decrease and increase the volume of the chamber to alternately expel fluid from and draw fluid into it.

Claims

1. A handheld surgical instrument comprising:

(i) a housing capable of being hand held and including a front end;

(ii) a first connector formed in the housing and adapted for communicating with a source of fluid;

(iii) a second connector formed in the front end of the housing;

(iv) an elongated surgical tool removably attached to the second connector and including a conduit axially formed within said tool and adapted for communicating with the second connector, the conduit being based for irrigating and evacuating an interior portion of the body of a patient;

(v) an elongated chamber disposed within the housing and having a distal end and a proximal end, the distal end being in communication with the second connector and the proximal end being in communication with the first connector, the chamber having at least one sidewall resiliently deflectable between a first undeflected state and a second deflected state;

(vi) drive means disposed within the housing for alternatingly engaging with and disengaging from the sidewall of the chamber such that when the drive means is engaged with the sidewall the sidewall is in the second state and when the drive means is disengaged from the sidewall, the sidewall is in the first state whereby, when the source is in communication with the first connector and the conduit is in communication with the second connector, disengaging the drive means from the sidewall increases the volume of the chamber thereby drawing fluid into the chamber from the source, and engaging the drive means with the sidewal decreases the volume of the chamber thereby expelling fluid therefrom and into the conduit and the fluid is moved from the source, along the conduit to irrigate the body of the patient.

2. A handheld surgical instrument according to claim 1, wherein the chamber includes at least one one-way valve to ensure that the direction of fluid movement is from the chamber to the patient, said one-way valve being disposed at either said distal end or said proximal end of said chamber.

3. A handheld surgical instrument according to claim 2, wherein the drive means includes a plunger restrained to reciprocate within the housing to act on the sidewall of the chamber.

4. A handheld surgical instrument according to claim 3, further comprising an evacuation valve disposed in the conduit and adapted for communicating with a receiver of fluid, said evacuation valve being positionable between a first position and a second position such that in said first position fluid is blocked from said receiver and the chamber is in communication with a body cavity of the patient, and in said second position fluid is blocked from the chamber and the body cavity of the patient is in communication with said receiver of fluid.

5. A handheld surgical instrument according to claim 4, wherein the conduit is a bore formed in the surgical tool.

6. A handheld surgical instrument according to claim 5, wherein the housing includes a receiving bore and the chamber is defined by a cartridge which is removably retained in the receiving bore.

7. A handheld surgical instrument according to claim 5, wherein the surgical tool includes an operational tip at the end of the conduit for insertion into the body of the patient and a connecting end for connection to the housing and wherein the chamber is located at the connecting end of the tool.

8. A handheld surgical instrument according to claim 7, wherein the drive means further includes an electric motor which operates to reciprocate the plunger laterally within the housing.

9. A handheld surgical instrument comprising:

(i) a housing capable of being hand held and including a front end;

(ii) an elongated surgical tool including a free end for insertion into the body of a patient and a secure end removably attached to the front end of the housing;

(iii) a conduit formed within and aligned along the longitudinal axis of the surgical tool, for irrigating and evacuating an interior portion of the body of a patient;

(iv) a chamber disposed within and adjacent to the secure end of the surgical tool and in communication with the conduit, the chamber having at least one resilient wall that is deflectable between a first undeflected state and a second deflected state;

(v) a first connector formed in a wall of the chamber and adapted for communicating with a fluid source;

(vi) drive means disposed within the housing for alternatingly engaging with and disengaging from the resilient wall of the chamber when the tool is attached to the front end, such that when the drive means is engaged with the resilient wall the resilient wall is in the second state, and when the drive means is disengaged from the resilient wall the resilient wall is in the first state;

(vii) whereby disengaging the drive means from the resilient wall increases the volume of the chamber thereby drawing fluid into the chamber from the fluid Source, and engaging the drive means with the resilient wall decreases the volume of the chamber thereby expelling fluid therefrom into the conduit and into the body cavity of the patient.

10. A handheld surgical instrument according to claim 9, further comprising an evacuation valve disposed in the conduit and adapted for communicating with a receiver of fluid, said evacuation valve being positionable between a first position and a second position such that in said first position fluid is blocked from said receiver and the chamber is in communication with a body cavity of the patient, and in said second position fluid is blocked from the chamber and the body cavity of the patient is in communication with said receiver of fluid.

11. A handheld surgical instrument according to claim 10, wherein the drive means includes a plunger restrained to reciprocatingly engage the resilient wall of the chamber.