Abstract: Surgical scissors include a pair of scissor blades mounted at a distal end of an elongated flexible body and a housing attached to the proximal end of the elongated body. An actuator is coupled with mechanical advantage to the scissor blades for manually controlling shearing movement of the blades in response to finger movement on the actuator back and forth along the housing. Electrical conductors are provided through body and housing from a connector to the scissor blades. The housing is configured to be assembled in mating shells with components assembled in and confined by attached shells that facilitate rapid and accurate fabrication.

Abstract: A cannula includes a tubular body having a proximal end and distal blunt end, at least one lumen extending the length of the body, an endoscope having a lighted, viewing end disposed in the lumen near the distal end of the body, and a transparent, tissue-separating tip substantially covering the distal end of the body. The tissue-separating tip is slightly blunted to inhibit avulsion of tissue and lateral vessels along the dissected cavity formed thereby. Endoscopic viewing through the tip is enhanced by tapering the inner walls thereof to a cusp adjacent the blunt tip in order to reduce visual distortion. Alternatively, a cannula includes a dissection probe and a removable or deflectable tip for exposing the probe and endoscope to facilitate viewing and the dissection of connective tissue and lateral vessels along the dissected cavity. Methods of using such cannulas produce an elongated cavity along the course of a blood vessel for subsequent harvesting or other treatment of the isolated blood vessel.

Abstract: A cannula includes a tubular body having proximal closed end and distal blunt end, at least one lumen extending the length of the body, an endoscope having a lighted, viewing end disposed in the lumen near the distal end of the body, and a transparent, tissue separating member substantially covering the distal end of the body. The tissue separating member has a blunt tip disposed from and of the end distal to the body. A method of using such a cannula separates tissue to form an elongated cavity along the course of a small blood vessel and subsequently harvesting the blood vessel.

Abstract: Mechanical retractors for bluntly dissecting tissue at a remote surgical site include extendable elements disposed near the distal end of an elongated cannula body with direct mechanical linkage to manual actuators disposed near the proximal end of the cannula body. Individual extendable elements may be arranged in symmetrical or asymmetrical configurations about the central axis of the body for selectively bluntly dissecting bodily tissue in patterns of greater diversity than merely omni-radially as provided by conventional pressurizable balloon tip cannulas.

Abstract: A trocar for placement in the lumen of a cannula to facilitate insertion of the cannula through the wall of a body cavity is described. The trocar comprises a handle, an obturator having a proximal portion and a distal portion with a cutting surface for piercing the wall of the body cavity, and an axis. The proximal and distal portions of the obturator are mounted for relative angular movement about the axis of the obturator. A mechanism retracts the obturator proximally relative to the cannula along an axial path as the proximal and distal portions move angularly relative to each other after the cutting surface has at least partially penetrated through the wall of the body cavity. Preferably, the path is free of distal movement of the obturator relative to the cannula.