Codman & Shurtleff, Inc.

Enora S Kunica

Robert G Kraus

Joseph J Praderio

A trocar apparatus and method for introducing a drainage catheter into a drainage area of the body. The trocar includes a hollow cannula and a rod. The rod has a closed distal end and is longer than the cannula so that it can slide into the cannula and, when fully inserted, project a predetermined distance past the distal end of the cannula. The proximal ends of the cannula and the rod have respective supports which will contact one another to limit the forward motion of the rod into the cannula and an interfitting device cooperatively disposed on the supports to permit the user to hold the rod and the cannula in fixed relationship during insertion of the trocar. A catheter holder is placed on the cannula support. The projecting end of the rod is inserted into a drainage opening in the distal tip of the catheter, and a proximal portion of the catheter is held in the catheter holder, so that prior to insertion the catheter is aligned generally along the outside of the cannula. The flexible tip of the rod aligns itself generally along the axis of the catheter, so that during insertion the catheter presents a small cross-section to the tissue through which it is advancing. After the catheter is advanced to its desired position in the body, the rod is withdrawn into the cannula to free the distal tip of the catheter, the proximal portion of the catheter is released from the catheter holder, and then the cannula and the rod are removed from the body leaving the catheter in place.

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Wellesley, MA, United States of America

Enora S Kunica