Device for assisting laparoscopic surgery

Abstract

A tool is described which is adapted to be attached to the foremost end of a laparoscopic instrument. The tool has a ring at its foremost end adapted to be pushed into contact with the abdomen wall at a point where a trocar is to be inserted, for supporting the abdominal wall around the entry point of the trocar. To assist its use the plane of the ring is angled relative to the lengthwise axis of the instrument, and advantageously the diameter of the ring is selected so that it will admit the tip of the trocar but is too small to allow the trocar to pass completely therethrough. Thus by pushing the ring against the peritoneum, the trocar will be prevented from penetrating significantly into the abdominal cavity. A clamp or stop prevents the tool from leaving the instrument. The instrument may be a laparoscopic telescope, or a probe which is inserted through another incision for viewing by a telescope. A method of controlling the insertion of a trocar through the abdomen of a patient is described using a laparoscopic instrument fitted with such a tool wherein the trocar is first pushed gently against the abdomen where an incision is to be made, the region is viewed from within using a laparoscopic telescope, the ring is positioned against the peritoneum so that the ring surrounds the protrusion in the peritoneum caused by the pressure of the trocar against the external surface of the abdomen wall, and thereafter the pressure of the trocar on the skin is increased and the trocar rotated in known manner to form an incision, whilst firmly pressing the ring in the opposite sense to resist inward movement of the trocar beyond that permitted by the ring. Typically the tool is mounted on the telescope and the combination is pushed through a first incision and used to view and support the peritoneum, while a second incision is made by the trocar.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.