Veress needle with illuminated guidance and suturing capability

Abstract

A laparoscopic instrument for forming an incision in a body cavity, insufflating the body cavity with gas, and suturing the incision at the completion of the surgery includes a set of jaws at the distal end of the Veress needle or cannula. The jaws are pivoted to one another for motion between an open position or a closed position in which they may be used to grasp a suture in the body cavity for removal from the cavity for knotting. A push mechanism at the proximal end of the instrument moves the jaws between their open and closed position on successive actuations of a pushbutton and retains them in that state until the next push. An illumination source is provided for the distal end of the instrument to provide illumination through the walls of the body cavity so that the surgeon can determine the degree of penetration of the instrument into the body cavity and can identify any major arteries which should be avoided in the formation of other laparoscopic openings.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This Application is a Continuation in Part of application Ser. No. 12 / 693,079 filed on Jan. 25, 2010. Application Ser. No. 12 / 693,079 claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 61 / 146,974 filed on Jan. 23, 2009.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]This invention relates to an instrument for use in the practice of laparoscopic surgery and more particularly to such a device which has utility in forming an incision, insufflating the underlying body cavity and suturing the incision at the completion of the surgery.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]In the practice of minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery it is common to make a small incision through the skin and underlying tissue of the patient adjacent the internal surgical site using a Veress needle. These needles include a tubular outer cannula with a sharpened distal end and an inner hollow cylindrical needle which terminates in a blunt end. A spring assembly urges the needle to a position...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention is a laparoscopic surgical instrument that includes a cam mechanism for opening and closing the jaws of the hook, making it easy for a surgeon to perform surgical procedures. Additionally, the instrument has an illuminating system to help the surgeon see the progress of the trocar in making a laparoscopic incision, and to visualize major blood vessels that might interfere with the surgery. This system allows for safer and better visualization during laparoscopic surgery.

Problems solved by technology

One problem associated with the use of such Veress needle assemblies is determining when the needle has progressed through the wall of the body cavity and its distal end has emerged within the cavity.

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