Codman & Shurtleff, Inc.

Wesley C Walker

John R Bookwalter

Rene J Cabrera

Kenneth R Hayes

A retractor systems includes a retractor blade with a blade portion and a handle portion that fit together in a modular way to allow different blades to be removably and interchangeably affixed to the handle assembly. A dovetail mounts the blade in a plane substantially transverse or perpendicular to the shaft. Preferably, the handle assembly translates within a multi-position locking mechanism to allow adjustment of the handle extension along one or more axes, while the in-plane swing of the blade about the shaft conveniently positions the tip of the blade under tissue to be retracted when bone or hard tissue may impede access along a retraction direction parallel to the axis of the shaft. The interchangeable blades may have different sizes between approximately 5 and 15 centimeters length, and are manually affixed to the handle to set the reach and scope of the retractor for a particular operation. Preferably a blade is formed of a radiolucent polymer, permitting unobstructed imaging when the retractor is occluded during surgery on a joint, or during an anterior approach to the spine. The blade may be formed with its surface dished or curved in one or more directions, or may have a lip or flare adapted for a contacting or retracting a particular tissue or structure. The surface of the blade swings down to engage muscle along a path substantially tangent to a hard tissue structure or bone from which the tissue is to be retracted.

Surgical retractor assembly

A retractor blade mounts on a shaft having a controlled degree of rotation and swings down to grip and retract tissue from bone or a hard tissue structure. The retractor blade includes a blade portion and a handle portion which may be integrally joined or may fit together in a modular way to allow different blades to be removably and interchangeably affixed to the handle assembly. A dovetail may mount the blade in a plane substantially transverse or perpendicular to the shaft. The shaft translates within a multi-position locking mechanism to allow adjustment of the handle extension along one or more axes, while the in-plane swing of the blade about the shaft conveniently positions the tip of the blade under tissue to be retracted when bone or hard tissue impedes access along the retraction direction parallel to the axis of the shaft. The retractor handle has a regular cross-section with one or more protruding lobes or ridges extending along the axial direction such that the edge-to-edge diameter of the handle varies with angular position about the axis, and peaks at one or more lobes or opposed pairs of lobes so that the ridges jam by interference against the walls of a channel in a clamping assembly. Preferably the blade is formed of a radiolucent polymer and may have its surface dished or curved in one or more directions, or may have a lip or flare adapted for contacting or retracting a particular tissue or structure.

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Marion, MA, United States of America

Wesley C Walker