Vessel retractor

• US 8,241,210 B2
• Filed: 01/04/2008
• Issued: 08/14/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Maquet Cardiovascular LLC (Getinge AB)
• Original Assignee: Maquet Cardiovascular LLC (Getinge AB)
• Inventors: Lunsford, John P, Chin, Albert K, Adam, Charles J, Davis, John W
• Primary Examiner(s): WOODALL, NICHOLAS W
• Application Number:
  US11/969,318
• Publication Number:
  US 20080103365A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,684 Days
• Field of Search: 600/201, 600/203, 600/204, 600/205, 600/208, 600/209, 600/217
• US Class Current: 600/209
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/3137 for examination of the interior of blood vessels
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/32 Devices for opening or enlarging the visual field, e.g. of a tube of the body dilators A61M29/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/00008 Vein tendon strippers tube strippers A61M1/83
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/0218 for minimally invasive surgery A61B17/0281, A61B17/0469, A61B17/12013, A61B17/1285, A61B17/29, A61B17/320016 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/3421 Cannulas
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00778 Operations on blood vessels A61B2017/22097, A61B2017/320741 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/320044 Blunt dissectors blunt suture needles A61B2017/06085
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/3456 blunt

Abstract

A surgical apparatus includes an elongate cannula having a lumen extending therein between proximal and distal ends, a retractor disposed to slide within the lumen to extend a distal end thereof beyond the distal end of the cannula, an angling device connected to the retractor near the distal end of the retractor and extending within the cannula toward the proximal end thereof for selectively deflecting the distal end of the retractor away from a central axis of the cannula in response to manual manipulation of the angling device from near the proximal end of the cannula, wherein the distal end of the retractor is configured to move, upon extension, an object away from the central axis of the cannula.

Claims

1. A surgical apparatus comprising:

an elongated cannula having a lumen extending therein between proximal and distal ends;

a retractor disposed to slide within the lumen to extend a distal end thereof beyond the distal end of the cannula;

an angling device connected to the retractor near the distal end of the retractor and extending within the cannula toward the proximal end thereof for selectively deflecting the distal end of the retractor away from a central axis of the cannula in response to manual manipulation of the angling device from near the proximal end of the cannula;

wherein the distal end of the retractor is configured to move, upon extension, an object away from the central axis of the cannula.

2. The surgical apparatus of claim 1, wherein a movement of at least a part of the retractor relative to the cannula is not parallel to the central axis.

3. The surgical apparatus of claim 1, wherein when the distal end of the retractor is extended beyond the distal end of the cannula, the elongated cannula provides access for a surgical tool to cooperate with the retractor to perform a surgical operation at a surgical site.

4. The surgical apparatus of claim 3, further comprising the surgical tool, the surgical tool configured to perform the surgical procedure at a location distal to the distal end of the cannula when the distal end of the retractor is extended beyond the distal end of the cannula.

5. The surgical apparatus according to claim 1 in which the angling device includes a tension member extending within the cannula from attachment to the retractor beyond the distal end of the cannula, to a handle disposed near the proximal end of the cannula for selectively exerting tension on the retractor to deflect a portion of the retractor extended beyond the distal end of the cannula in response to manual pull applied to the handle relative to the cannula.

6. The surgical apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising an auxiliary lumen extending within the cannula between distal and proximal ends thereof, wherein the tension member extends through the auxiliary lumen.

7. The surgical apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the distal portion of the retractor is resiliently flexible for deflection in response to pull exerted thereon by the tension member.

8. The surgical apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the retractor is disposed to engage a vessel structure for selectively displacing the vessel structure in response to tensile force exerted on the retractor through the tension member.

9. A surgical apparatus comprising:

an elongated cannula having a proximal end, a distal end, and a lumen extending between the proximal and distal ends;

a visualization tool located near the distal end of the elongated cannula;

a retractor having a distal end, the retractor disposed to slide within the lumen of the elongated cannula to extend the distal end of the retractor beyond the distal end of the cannula; and

an angling device connected near the distal end of the retractor and extending within the cannula toward the proximal end of the cannula, the angling device configured for selectively deflecting the distal end of the retractor away from a central axis of the cannula in response to manual manipulation of the angling device from near the proximal end of the cannula;

wherein when the retractor is not extended, the distal end of the retractor is adjacent to the visualization tool and at least partially encompasses the visualization tool.

10. The surgical apparatus of claim 9, wherein the distal end of the retractor has a first concave region that at least partially encompasses the visualization tool when the retractor is not extended.

11. The surgical apparatus of claim 10, wherein the retractor has a second concave region on an opposite side of distal end of the retractor from the first concave region.

12. The surgical apparatus of claim 9, wherein the visualization tool is an endoscope.

13. The surgical apparatus of claim 9, wherein the retractor allows a clear field of view of a surgical site by the visualization tool beyond the cannula upon extension of the retractor beyond the distal end of the cannula.

14. The surgical apparatus of claim 9, wherein the retractor, when extended, is configured to be used with a different surgical tool during a surgical procedure.