The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 30, 1998
Filed:
Oct. 20, 1995
Rodger Thomason, Los Angeles, CA (US);
James E Carter, Dana Point, CA (US);
Neil H Naves, Mission Viejo, CA (US);
Mark J Legome, Mission Viejo, CA (US);
Jose M Velez, Mission Viejo, CA (US);
Inlet Medical, Inc., Eden Praire, MN (US);
Abstract
A manual dilating trocar uses an automatically retracting stylet. The stylet is threaded through a dilating obturator which is, in turn, inserted into a trocar sheath. A spring near the handle of the stylet serves to urge the stylet cutting tip into a retracted position so that it can be held within the dilating tip of the dilating obturator. When a surgeon seeks to pierce a body cavity so as to perform laparoscopic surgery or the like, the handle is engaged to overcome the bias of the spring so that the stylet's cutting tip is exposed. Upon piercing of the exterior body-cavity layer, the stylet may be withdrawn to ensure that no underlying organs or tissue are damaged by the sharp stylet tip. Once the dilation of the initial stylet wound has been completed and the trocar sheath has been introduced into the body cavity, the dilating obturator may also be removed from within the trocar sheath in order to provide a channel into the body cavity. In an alternative embodiment, the stylet may be spring biased to expose the cutting tip, and a lock pin may be used so that energy stored in the spring can be brought to bear upon the stylet and to deliver a sharp cutting thrust of the stylet tip against any tough or obstructive tissue.