Method of and apparatus for treating abdominal obesity and metabolic syndrome in human patients

A laparoscopically-guided electro-cauterizing power-assisted liposuction system, for safely removing visceral fat from the mesenteric region of a patient, comprising:

• a laparoscopy system having
• a video probe for insertion into the patient by one or more surgeons,
• one or more video monitors for displaying, to surgeons and assistants, digital video images of the patient's abdominal region, captured along the field of view (FOV) of the video probe, and
• digital recording equipment for recording captured digital video during the operation, and marking the same by the surgeons;
• an electro-cauterizing liposuction system having
• (i) a powered hand-supportable instrument provided with an electro-cauterizing cannula assembly, and
• (ii) a system controller operably connected to said powered hand-supportable instrument, for supplying power to drive the inner cannula of the hand-supportable instrument, and (b) RF-power signals generated by an RF signal generating module for powering said electro-cauterizing cannula assembly;
• a vacuum pump operably connected to the inner cannula, for aspirating visceral fat through the aspiration aperture of said cannula assembly, during system operation;
• and
• an infusion pump controlled by the system controller, for periodically or continuously infusing solution near the distal portion of the cannula assembly during system.

An electro-cauterizing liposuction instrument system for removing visceral fat from said mesenteric region of a patient comprising:

• a hand-supportable housing containing a motor source, and removably supporting a bipolar electro-cauterizing cannula assembly;
• wherein said bipolar electro-cauterizing cannula assembly has a distal portion and a proximate portion, and including
• an outer cannula insertable within said hand-supportable housing and having an elongated aperture formed at the distal portion of said outer cannula, and
• an inner cannula having an aspiration aperture and supported within said outer cannula and being operably connected to a vacuum pump for aspiration of visceral fat tissue from the mesentery of said patient;
• electrodes formed along said elongated aperture and said aspiration aperture for electro-cauterizing fat tissue as said fat tissue is being aspirated through said aspiration aperture;
• wherein said motor source drives said inner cannula to reciprocate within said outer cannula, so that said aspiration aperture formed in said inner cannula reciprocates along the elongated aperture of said outer cannula, during instrument operation, while the surgeon removes visercal fat from the mesentery of the patient;
• an irrigation channel formed along said outer cannula, and in fluid communication with an irrigation aperture formed at the distal portion of said outer cannula and proximate to said elongated aperture;
• and
• an infusion pump, operably connected to said outer cannula, for delivering controlled amounts of fluid to said irrigation channel, over short periods of time, in synchronization with either the forward or return stroke of said inner cannula within said outer cannula, so that said fluid flows out of said irrigation aperture and proximate to said elongated aperture during the aspiration of visceral fat through, and electro-cauterization of visceral fat about said reciprocating aspiration aperture.

A method of performing intra-abdominal liposuction comprising the steps of:

• (a) inserting a laparoscopic instrument into the abdominal region of a patient;
• (b) inserting an electro-cauterizing powered liposuction instrument into the mesenteric region of said patient;
• and
• (c) while viewing said mesenteric region of said patient using said laparoscopic instrument, using said electro-cauterizing powered liposuction instrument to remove visceral fat from said mesenteric region, to ameliorate the metabolic syndrome, or abdominal obesity of the patient.