Medication sleeve for a trocar assembly

A trocar assembly for delivery of a liquid medication along the path of a port site wound during a laparoscopic procedure, the assembly comprising:

• a) an obturator for creating a port site wound by puncturing the abdominal wall of a patient undergoing a laparoscopic procedure;
• and
• b) an obturator sleeve in the form of an elongated tube configured to fittingly slide over the obturator, the sleeve comprising:
• i) a proximal end, a distal end, an outer wall, and an inner wall, the inner wall forming a hollow passage for advancement of medical instruments through the sleeve;
• ii) an internal flow passage for receiving a liquid medication, wherein the internal flow passage is located between the outer wall and the inner wall of the sleeve and between the proximal end and the distal end of the sleeve;
• iii) a medication inlet for delivery of the liquid medication to the internal flow passage, wherein the medication inlet is located at the proximal end of the sleeve and is fluidly connected to the internal flow passage;
• iv) a plurality of apertures located within the outer wall and opening into the internal flow passage;
• and
• v) a diffusion polymer located within the internal flow passage for initially absorbing the liquid medication delivered into the internal flow passage and then releasing the absorbed medication through the apertures, wherein a plurality of channels is formed along the length of the internal flow passage, each of the plurality of channels including two side walls projecting from the inner wall into the internal flow passage and a top wall joining the two side walls, each top wall including fenestrations which allow the liquid medication to pass into the diffusion polymer, and wherein the released medication infiltrates the tissues of the port site wound.

A method for delivering a medication to the tissues of a laparoscopic port site wound, the method comprising the steps of:

• a) providing an obturator sleeve in the form of an elongated tube configured to fittingly slide over the obturator, the sleeve comprising:
• i) a proximal end, a distal end, an outer wall, and an inner wall, the inner wall forming a hollow passage for advancement of medical instruments through the sleeve;
• ii) an internal flow passage for receiving a liquid medication, wherein the internal flow passage is located between the outer wall and the inner wall of the sleeve and between the proximal end and the distal end of the sleeve;
• iii) a medication inlet for delivery of the liquid medication to the internal flow passage, wherein the medication inlet is located at the proximal end of the sleeve and is fluidly connected to the internal flow passage;
• iv) a plurality of apertures located within the outer wall and opening into the internal flow passage;
• and
• v) a diffusion polymer located within the internal flow passage for initially absorbing the liquid medication delivered into the internal flow passage and then releasing the absorbed medication through the apertures;
• b) placing the obturator sleeve into a laparoscopic port site wound so that the outside surface of the sleeve contacts the tissue walls of the port site wound;
• and
• c) delivering the liquid medication into the internal flow passage so that the medication passes through the diffusion polymer and out through the apertures to infiltrate the tissues of the port site wound, wherein the method provides even dissemination of the liquid medication to the fascia/muscle layers in which the majority of sensory and motor nerves of the lateral abdominal wall are located.