Endoscopic vessel harvesting devices with conditioning of insufflation gas

A method of visualizing subcutaneous tissue while harvesting a blood vessel from a patient, comprising the steps of:

• inserting a tip of an endoscopic instrument subcutaneously into the patient, wherein the endoscopic instrument has an optical system providing a visual output for driving a video display;
• continuously delivering insufflation gas into a dissected space formed within the patient via an insufflation channel, wherein expelled insufflation gas inflates the dissected space;
• evacuating fluidic contents from the dissected space via a removal channel to avoid overpressurization of the dissected space, wherein the fluidic contents include insufflation gas and biological impurities;
• processing the fluidic contents to retain at least some of the biological impurities;
• and
• exhausting the processed insufflation gas to ambient air without the retained biological impurities.

A device for performing endoscopic surgery on a patient, comprising:

• an endoscopic instrument having a distal end with a surgical tip and having a proximal end with a handle, wherein the distal end is inserted through a skin incision in the patient into a dissected space;
• an insufflation channel configured to convey an insufflation gas subcutaneously into the dissected space;
• a removal channel configured to evacuate fluidic contents from the dissected space, wherein the fluidic contents include insufflation gas and biological impurities;
• and
• a processor coupled to the removal channel to process the fluidic contents to retain at least some of the biological impurities and to exhaust the insufflation gas.