Gastric sizing systems including instruments for use in bariatric surgery
AssigneeBoehringer Laboratories, Inc.
InventorsChristopher L. Radl, Trevor Smith, John Karpowicz, Allison Lloyd
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Systems and methods for effecting bariatric procedures are disclosed. Each system includes an instrument, a control valve and, optionally, a suction controller. The instrument is in the form of an elongated, flexible sizing tube having a distal end portion including a plurality of apertures. The control valve enables suction to be applied to the patient's stomach via the apertures to drain gastric fluids and to bring adjacent portions of the patient's stomach into engagement with the sizing tube to provide a visually perceptible delineation line along which a portion of the stomach may be resected, sealed and tested.
Claims20
A system for sizing a patient's stomach for a bariatric procedure, the patient's stomach having a lesser curvature and a greater curvature, said system comprising:
- a sizing tube configured for introduction through the esophagus of the patient into the patient's stomach with a portion of said sizing tube disposed along the lesser curvature of the patient's stomach, said sizing tube comprising an elongated tubular member having a central longitudinal axis, a hollow interior extending about said central longitudinal axis, and a sidewall, including a portion configured for extending the entire length of the lesser curvature of the patient's stomach and bent into a curved shape directly engaging the lesser curvature of the patient's stomach, said sizing tube having a proximal end and a distal free end, said sidewall having an exterior periphery including a plurality of apertures in an array, said array extending about the exterior periphery from a point adjacent said distal free end to an intermediate point located between said distal free end and said proximal end, said plurality of apertures being in fluid communication with said hollow interior, said sizing tube being configured to have controlled suction applied to said hollow interior and through said plurality of apertures to apply suction to the lesser curvature of the patient's stomach and portions of the patient's stomach between said sizing tube and the greater curvature of the patient's stomach to bring those portions of the patient's stomach into close engagement with the outer periphery of said sizing tube, whereupon said sizing tube can be used as a guide to enable the patient's stomach to be sized therealong with said controlled suction holding said sizing tube in place against the lesser curvature of the patient's stomach, said proximal end of said sizing tube being configured to enable a fluid to be introduced therein to pass through the interior of said sizing tube and from there through an openable portion of said sidewall adjacent said distal free end to prevent said sizing tube from becoming stuck in the patient's stomach.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.