TOOL MEMBER COVER AND COVER DEPLOYMENT DEVICE
A surgical instrument including a tool member cover and a cover deployment device are disclosed. The cover is supported adjacent to or on the tool assembly of the surgical instrument and is movable from a first position in which the tool assembly is uncovered to a second position in which the tool assembly is at least partially encompassed by the cover. The deployment device is provided for moving the cover from the first position to the second position.
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/522,914 filed Jan. 28, 2005, which is a 371 of application No. PCT/US03/24201 filed Jul. 31, 2003, which claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/400,328, filed Jul. 31, 2002, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND1. Technical Field
This application relates to a cover and cover deployment device for the tool member or tool assembly of a surgical instrument, and more particularly, to a cover and cover deployment device for the tool member of a laparoscopic or endoscopic surgical instrument for manipulating, treating or excising tissue, especially diseased or cancerous tissue, from a body cavity.
2. Background of Related Art
A variety of different types of surgical instruments have been developed for manipulating, identifying, treating, repairing and/or excising tissue including organs or portions thereof located within body cavities such instruments sometimes being hereafter referred to as surgical instruments for treatment of body tissues. These instruments include graspers, fasteners, e.g., staplers, dissectors, biopsy devices, coagulators, etc. Typically, these instruments are dimensioned to be used in both open and laparoscopic or endoscopic procedures.
In endoscopic surgical procedures for treatment of body tissue, a surgical instrument is inserted through an incision or cannula to a position adjacent the tissue to be treated. The distal tool member of the instrument is then manipulated to treat, i.e., biopsy, excise, dissect, coagulate, reposition, etc., the tissue. Thereafter, the instrument with or without excised tissue is withdrawn from the surgical site through the incision to remove the instrument from the body cavity.
One problem associated with current surgical devices is that during removal of the tool member from the surgical site, the tool member or tool assembly (hereafter, for simplicity “tool member”) of the surgical instrument for treating, for example, diseased, tissue comes into contact with the healthy tissue defining the incision and/or within the body cavity in which the surgical site is located. This may also be a problem in open surgical procedures. Where the tissue being treated is diseased tissue, e.g., cancerous, this problem becomes critical since contact between the cancerous tissue and the healthy tissue may result in seeding of cancerous cells resulting in metastases.
Accordingly, a need exists in the art for improved instrumentation for shielding healthy tissue from diseased tissue during removal of a surgical instrument from a surgical site.
SUMMARYThe present disclosure provides a tool member cover for use with a surgical instrument having a tool assembly and a body portion. The cover is preferably tubular and has open distal and proximal ends. A portion of the cover, preferably the distal end, is fastened to the surgical instrument adjacent to or on the tool assembly. Alternately, the cover may be removably attached to the surgical instrument. The cover is movable from a first position in which the tool member is uncovered to a second position in which the cover at least partially encompasses the tool member.
Preferably, the cover is formed of an impermeable material. A deployment device is provided for moving the cover from the first position to the second position. In a first embodiment, the deployment device includes a sleeve formed of half-sections which are held together using expandable members, e.g., resilient O-rings. The O-rings allow the sleeve half-sections to move outwardly relative to each other to allow the sleeve to pass over a tool assembly having a larger diameter than a body portion of the surgical instrument. The sleeve is slidably positioned about the body of a surgical instrument between retracted and advanced positions to move the cover from the first position to the second position. The cover is positioned about the body portion of the surgical instrument and about the deployment device such that when the deployment device is moved from the retracted to the advanced position, the distal end of the sleeve engages the distal end of the cover to invert the cover over the tool assembly.
The cover may include a closure device such as a drawstring or elastic band to close the distal end of the cover to enclose the tool member within the cover. The cover may be used with a variety of different types of surgical instruments including staplers, fasteners, manipulators, biopsy devices, retractors, coagulators, dissectors etc.
Various preferred embodiments of the presently disclosed tool member cover and cover deployment device are described herein with reference to the drawings, wherein:
Preferred embodiments of the presently disclosed tool member cover and cover deployment device will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings in which like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding elements in each of the several views.
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It is understood that cover 10 can be secured at any suitable location along shaft 58, although on some instruments securing it close to or even on the tool member itself will save cover material and will render the cover easier to manipulate with or without tissue therein.
Referring to
The distal end 110a of cover 110 is secured to surgical instrument 111 adjacent to or on a proximal portion of tool assembly 152 in the manner described above with respect to cover 10, such that cover 110 is positioned about deployment device 116 and body 158 of surgical instrument 111. Engagement member 126 is positioned slightly proximally of a fastening point 160 of cover 110 and to tool assembly 152. In use, deployment device 116 is advanced about body 158 of surgical instrument 111 by pushing on guide portion 124 to advance engagement member 126 into the distal end of cover 110 to invert cover 110 about tool assembly 152 in a manner similar to that disclosed above. Because engagement member 126 is flexible, it is able to slide over the increasing diameter of tool assembly 152. After cover 110 is fully deployed (not shown), deployment device 116 can be retracted and surgical instrument 111 can be removed from a surgical site.
It is to be noted that the distal end 110a of cover 110 can be secured to tool assembly 152 or a similar or like operating end to end anastomosis device that does not require holes such as “H” (
While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to the preferred embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. For example, a closure device other than an elastic band may be provided to close the cover about the tool assembly. For example, a drawstring “D” (
Claims
1-15. (canceled)
16. A cover deployment device comprising:
- a sleeve having a distal end and a proximal end and defining a lumen, the sleeve including a first sleeve half-section and a second sleeve half-section that are movable in relation to each other between a contracted position and an expanded position; and
- at least one expandable member positioned about the sleeve to urge the first and second sleeve half-sections towards the contracted position.
17. The cover deployment device of claim 16, wherein the at least one expandable member includes a first expandable member positioned about the distal end of the sleeve and a second expandable member positioned about the proximal end of the sleeve.
18. The cover deployment device of claim 16, wherein the at least one expandable member is a resilient O-ring.
19. The cover deployment device of claim 16, wherein the sleeve includes a proximally located annular ring.
20. The cover deployment device of claim 16, wherein the first sleeve half-section includes at least one projection and the second sleeve half-section includes at least one slot, the at least one projection being slidable into the at least one slot to maintain alignment between the first and second half-sections when the first and second half-sections are moved between the contracted and expanded positions.
21. The cover deployment device of claim 20, wherein the at least one projection includes two projections and the at least one slot includes two slots.
22. The cover deployment device of claim 16, wherein the sleeve defines at least one annular recess, the at least one annular recess being configured to receive the at least one expandable member.
23. The cover deployment device of claim 22, wherein the at least one annular recess includes a first annular recess positioned about the distal end of the sleeve and a second annular recess positioned about the proximal end of the sleeve, each of the first and second annular recesses being configured to receive one of the at least one expandable members.
24. The cover deployment device of claim 16, wherein the distal end of the sleeve includes an annular protrusion.
25. The cover deployment device of claim 24, wherein the annular protrusion is blunt.
26. A tool member cover and cover deployment device assembly comprising:
- the cover deployment device of claim 1; and
- a hollow cover having a proximal end and a distal end, the distal end of the hollow cover being positioned distally of the distal end of the sleeve such that distal movement of the sleeve in relation to the cover causes the cover to invert.
27. The tool member cover and cover deployment device assembly of claim 26, further including a closure device configured to close one end of the cover.
28. The tool member cover and cover deployment device assembly of claim 27, wherein the closure device includes a drawstring.
29. The tool member cover and cover deployment device assembly of claim 28, wherein the cover deployment device is separable from the cover.
30. The tool member cover and cover deployment device assembly of claim 26, wherein the at least one expandable member includes a first expandable member positioned about the distal end of the sleeve and a second expandable member positioned about the proximal end of the sleeve.
31. The tool member cover and cover deployment device assembly of claim 26, wherein the at least one expandable member is a resilient O-ring.
32. The tool member cover and cover deployment device assembly of claim 26, wherein the first sleeve half-section includes at least one projection and the second sleeve half-section includes at least one slot, the at least one projection being slidable into the at least one slot to maintain alignment between the first and second half-sections when the first and second half-sections moved between the contracted and expanded positions.
33. The tool member cover and cover deployment device assembly of claim 32, wherein the at least one projection includes two projections and the at least one slot includes two slots.
34. The tool member cover and cover deployment device assembly of claim 26, wherein the sleeve defines at least one annular recess, the at least one annular recess being configured to receive the at least one expandable member.
35. The tool member cover and cover deployment device assembly of claim 34, wherein the at least one annular recess includes a first annular recess positioned about the distal end of the sleeve and a second annular recess positioned about the proximal end of the sleeve, each of the first and second annular recesses being configured to receive one of the at least one expandable members.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 21, 2015
Publication Date: Dec 10, 2015
Inventor: Richard D. Gresham (Guilford, CT)
Application Number: 14/831,971