Trocar assembly with pneumatic sealing
First Claim
1. A trocar for use in a minimally invasive surgical procedure within the abdominal cavity of a patient, comprising:
- a) an elongated body having a generally tubular configuration with coaxially arranged inner and outer walls, the body having longitudinally opposed proximal and distal end portions, the inner wall defining an unobstructed lumen to accommodate passage of an instrument therethrough;
b) nozzle means operatively associated with the inner wall of the body, the nozzle means being dimensioned and configured to accelerate pressurized fluid directly into the unobstructed lumen to develop and maintain a pressure differential, between the pressure inside the abdominal cavity and the pressure outside the abdominal cavity, in an area within the unobstructed lumen, the pressure differential forming a barrier to the proximal egress of pressurized fluid from the abdominal cavity, while forming a fluid seal around a surgical instrument passing through the unobstructed lumen; and
c) means for delivering a pressurized flow of fluid to the nozzle means.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A trocar for use in a minimally invasive surgical procedure includes an elongated body, nozzle means and means for delivering a pressurized flow of fluid to the nozzle means. The elongated body has a generally tubular configuration with coaxially arranged inner and outer walls and longitudinally opposed proximal and distal end portions, with the inner wall defining a lumen to accommodate passage of an instrument therethrough. The nozzle means is operatively associated with the inner wall of the body for directing pressurized fluid into the lumen to develop a pressure differential in an area within a region extending from a location adjacent a distal end portion of the lumen to a location adjacent a proximal end portion of the lumen, to form a fluid seal around an instrument passing therethrough.
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Citations
37 Claims
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1. A trocar for use in a minimally invasive surgical procedure within the abdominal cavity of a patient, comprising:
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a) an elongated body having a generally tubular configuration with coaxially arranged inner and outer walls, the body having longitudinally opposed proximal and distal end portions, the inner wall defining an unobstructed lumen to accommodate passage of an instrument therethrough; b) nozzle means operatively associated with the inner wall of the body, the nozzle means being dimensioned and configured to accelerate pressurized fluid directly into the unobstructed lumen to develop and maintain a pressure differential, between the pressure inside the abdominal cavity and the pressure outside the abdominal cavity, in an area within the unobstructed lumen, the pressure differential forming a barrier to the proximal egress of pressurized fluid from the abdominal cavity, while forming a fluid seal around a surgical instrument passing through the unobstructed lumen; and c) means for delivering a pressurized flow of fluid to the nozzle means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A trocar for use in a surgical procedure within the abdominal cavity of a patient, comprising:
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a) a trocar body having a substantially tubular inner wall and a substantially tubular outer wall, the trocar body having a proximal end and a distal end, the inner wall defining an unobstructed lumen to provide access through the trocar; b) a first fluid passageway defined between the inner wall and the outer wall; and c) a first substantially annular nozzle defined in the inner wall of the trocar body in fluid communication with the first fluid passageway, being dimensioned and configured to accelerate a pressurized fluid directly into the unobstructed lumen to develop and maintain a pressure differential, between the pressure inside the abdominal cavity and the pressure outside the abdominal cavity, in an area within the unobstructed lumen, the pressure differential forming a barrier to the proximal egress of pressurized fluid from the abdominal cavity, while forming a fluid seal around a surgical instrument passing through the unobstructed lumen. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37)
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Specification