HEMOSTASIS AND TRANSECTION OF TISSUE
A laparoscopic cautery instrument may include an elongate shaft, a handle coupled to the shaft and moveable with respect to the shaft, an insulation ring, and a monopolar cautery wire. A laparoscopic cautery instrument may include an elongate shaft, a handle coupled to the shaft and moveable with respect to the shaft, a monopolar cautery wire, and an electrical conductor.
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This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/897,736, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,095,369, issued Aug. 4, 2015, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/770,714, filed Jun. 28, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,806,894, issued Oct. 5, 2010, which claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/806,031, filed Jun. 28, 2006, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. The subject matter disclosed herein was also disclosed in U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/694,163, filed Jun. 27, 2005, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference as evidence of constructive reduction to practice.
FIELDThe disclosed systems and methods relate generally to systems and methods for achieving hemostasis and transection of tissues during surgery. More specifically, the disclosed systems and methods relate to surgical instruments and that deliver electrical current to tissues.
BACKGROUNDSurgery may involve control of vascular structures that supply blood to tissues, in order to prepare the tissue for removal from the body. For example, hysterectomy, whether performed abdominally, vaginally, or laparoscopically, requires control of the blood supply to the uterus, namely the uterine and ovarian arteries, before the organ can be transected and removed. With laparoscopic supracervical hysterectomy (LSH), for example, the technique often involves ligation of the uterine-ovarian (or infundibulo-pelvic) ligaments, the broad and cardinal ligaments, the last of which contains the uterine arteries. Several techniques are used to transect these tissues and ligate the blood vessels contained within them including mono- and bi-polar electrocoagulation, staples, sutures and the harmonic scalpel. Once the uterine arteries have been ligated, the cervix may be amputated by one of several methods, including monopolar or bipolar cautery, the harmonic scalpel, or by cutting the cervix with scissors. These techniques, while effective, usually take significant time and skill, especially in avoiding injury to neighboring structures, including the bowel and ureters. Visualization of this area is essential during the amputation of the cervix, and is often hampered by an enlarged uterus, the presence of lower uterine segment or cervical fibroids, or by bowel that is difficult to retract from the cul-de-sac.
SUMMARYThe present disclosure provides systems and methods for surgical hemostasis and transection of tissues. In one exemplary embodiment, a laparoscopic instrument includes a cylindrical shaft, which is placed into the abdomen or pelvis, through a trocar port. Once placing the instrument inside the body, the surgeon deploys it by pushing a syringe-like mechanism or other actuator outside the body. This introduces a double-ring that opens up within the peritoneal cavity. The outer ring, referred to as the stabilization ring, may be wide and thin, like a ribbon, and may be electrically insulated. Within or attached to the outer ring may be a metallic, plastic, or otherwise stiff material that maintains the circular shape of the ring once it has been deployed inside the body. The inner ring, referred to as the transection wire, is adherent to the outer ring during deployment, but may be withdrawn into the cylindrical shaft independently of the outer ring, and an electrical current is applied to the wire.
After the uterine arteries have been ligated during the supracervical hysterectomy by one of several means, as described above, the device may be introduced through one of the laparoscopic trocar ports into the peritoneal cavity. The rings are then deployed by pressing the mechanism on the handle, which opens the ring, and these rings are placed over the uterine fundus like a lasso. The axis of the inner and outer rings may be deviated in relationship to the axis of the hollow cylinder, in order to position the rings in the proper position. This change in the axis of the rings may be performed with an articulating mechanism, or the ring may be simply bent by pushing up against tissue in the body. The device is brought down approximately to the level of the internal cervical os, and the rings are cinched down around the cervix by pulling back on the syringe-like mechanism. Once the seal is tight around the cervix, the outer ring may be locked into place, so that it does not loosen up. Any uterine manipulator, which may be metallic or plastic, should be removed from the cervix at this point. The instrument is attached to an electrical generator and a monopolar current is applied to the inner ring. At the same time, the inner transection wire is withdrawn through the tissue and into the cylindrical shaft. The outer stabilization ring holds the cervix in place and also acts to protect surrounding tissues from injury, since it may be insulated. Once the wire has been completely withdrawn into the shaft, a visual, tactile or auditory signal may be used to indicate to the surgeon that the transection is complete, and the electrical current is stopped. Alternatively, once the wire has been withdrawn back into the cylinder, the electric current may automatically shut off. This action separates the uterine fundus from the cervix. The stabilization ring may then be loosened, and withdrawn back into the cylindrical shaft of the instrument. At this point, the instrument may be removed from the body. The uterine itself would next be removed from the body, with one of several methods, including morcellation or posterior colpotomy.
In another embodiment, the inner transection wire may be insulated except for the outer half or other proportion of the distal segment of the loop.
In another embodiment, the outer stabilization ring may have a second wire embedded within it, which may be exposed on the inside of the ring. This outer ring wire may be exposed circumferentially, or it may only be exposed on either side for several centimeters, which would correspond with the location of the uterine arteries. This technique may be used when the surgeon is able to transect lateral tissues, such as the broad ligament, but does not or can not ligate the uterine vessels. The rings are deployed as stated above and cinched down around the cervix. Bipolar electrical current is then applied, which causes cauterization of the uterine arteries. The surgeon may look for several cues that the cauterization is complete, such as an auditory signal from an ammeter (indicating that the tissue has completed coagulation), or visual confirmation that the uterus has become cyanotic from cauterization of its blood supply. Once the surgeon has determined that the blood supply has been ligated, the bipolar energy is turned off and monopolar energy is applied to the inner transection wire, as described above. The outside of the outer stabilization ring may have visual markings that indicate the location of the outer ring conductive elements.
In another embodiment, the outer insulated stabilization wire may have a channel running within and holes on the outside, inside or along the edges of the outer ring. This channel may be connected to a channel that runs throughout the length of the cylinder and is attached to a suction canister. Once cauterization begins (either for the uterine arteries or to transect the uterus), suction is activated (either manually or automatically, when electrocoagulation is engaged), which may control the amount of smoke that is generated from the device. The channel ring may also be coupled to a fluid source under positive pressure and thereby provide irrigation to the surgical site.
In another embodiment, the inner and outer wires may come out from the end of the instrument without a ring configuration. The surgeon would manually grasp the ends of the wires, which may have an attachment device located on the end of the wires, and bring the wires around the cervix. The surgeon would then attach the distal end of the wires to another position along the wire; thus, creating a loop configuration. This may be useful, for example, in cases where the uterus is too large to place the loop over the top of the uterine fundus.
These and other features and advantages of the systems and methods disclosed herein will be more fully understood by reference to the following detailed description in conjunction with the attached drawings in which like reference numerals refer to like elements through the different views. The drawings illustrate principles of the systems and methods disclosed herein and are not necessarily to scale. Implied absolute or relative dimensions are not limiting but are instead provided for illustrative purposes.
For clarity and convenience, a number of exemplary embodiments will be described relating to a particular anatomic site, the female pelvis. However, it will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the disclosed systems and methods may be employed in a wide variety of anatomical settings to treat a broad range of abnormalities.
Although the description and figures provided herein concern supracervical hysterectomy, the device itself can be used and/or is adaptable to be used with a wide variety of other anatomic portions, such as the gallbladder, liver, lung, pancreas, spleen, kidney, muscle, and bone. The device may also be used to remove pathological structures, such as polyps and neoplasms. Devices customized for particular anatomic regions or uses can be provided with predetermined sizes for the ring (3), wire (4), and/or element(s) (8), and optionally with predetermined number and position of element(s) (8).
Claims
1. An electrical instrument comprising an insulation ring, a first electrocautery conductor, and a shaft, wherein:
- the insulation ring and the first electrocautery conductor each form a loop attached to a distal end of the shaft;
- the insulation ring and the first electrocautery conductor are each operatively coupled to the shaft so as to be separately expandable and retractable relative to the distal end of the shaft;
- the insulation ring is formed at least in part by an electrical insulator; and
- the first electrocautery conductor is formed at least in part by an electrical conductor.
2. The instrument of claim 1, further comprising an electrical power source to which connector ends of the first electrocautery conductor are so coupled as to apply monopolar current to the first electrocautery conductor.
3. The instrument of claim 1, further comprising a second electrocautery conductor affixed to an inward-facing side of the insulation ring.
4. The instrument of claim 3, further comprising an electrical power source to which connector ends of the second electrocautery conductor and the first electrocautery conductor are so coupled as to apply bipolar current between the first and second electrocautery conductors.
5. The instrument of claim 4, wherein the second electrocautery conductor comprises a pair of electrodes positioned at opposing locations of the insulation ring.
6. The instrument of claim 4, wherein the second electrocautery conductor comprises a conductor loop extending along at least half of the inward-facing side of the insulation ring.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 3, 2015
Publication Date: Jun 30, 2016
Applicant: New England Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists, LLP (West Newton, MA)
Inventors: Peter L. Rosenblatt (West Newton, MA), Anthony J. DiSciullo (Westwood, MA)
Application Number: 14/816,436