Abstract: A device for intra operative atraumatic dilatation, comprising a rigid tube with an inflatable balloon mounted near one end of the tube and an air bulb mounted near the other end of the tube. The rigid tube together with the balloon and the air bulb form a hermetically sealed volume. In the normal state of the device, the balloon is deflated and the air bulb contains a fluid. In the intestine dilating state, the surgeon applies a pressure on the air bulb, this resulting in a volume of the air in the bulb passing through the rigid tube to the balloon, which is thus inflated. When the surgeon removes the pressure on the air bulb, the device returns to its normal state in which the balloon is deflated. The balloon is made of a generally elastic material which in its deflated state has a diameter similar to that of the tube so that the balloon clasps the tube, to present a low profile so as not to interfere with the insertion of the device into an intestine.