Surgical probe incorporating a dilator
AssigneeNovitas Surgical, LLC
InventorRobert Louis Tatsumi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A surgical probe and a method for forming and enlarging an access opening through a psoas muscle to provide for minimally invasive lateral approach for surgical access to a lumber intervertebral disc. A distal end portion of the probe is equipped with an electrode useful for confirming proper location of the probe and includes an inflatable dilator body for enlarging an access opening through tissue adjacent to a spinal column. The probe includes a cannula through which a K wire can be extended to anchor the probe to a patient.
Claims14
A probe for use in a minimally invasive surgical procedure, comprising:
- (a) an elongate slender main body including a longitudinally disposed cannula and having a proximal end part and a distal end portion, the distal end portion in an initial condition having a first transverse dimension;
- (b) an expansible member associated with the distal end portion, and operable as a dilator, to expand the distal end portion radially to a larger second transverse dimension;
- (c) an electrode attached to and exposed on an exterior surface of the distal end portion;
- and
- (d) an electrical conductor interconnected with the electrode and extending along the elongate body to a location adjacent the proximal end part, the electrical conductor having a portion thereof available to receive an electrical signal.
A minimally invasive surgical method of providing access to a part of a human skeletal anatomy in order to perform a surgical procedure involving such skeletal anatomy, comprising:
- (a) providing an opening through a dermal layer;
- (b) providing a probe having a main body, a distal end portion including a dilator, a cannula extending through said main body and said distal end portion, an electrode located at a distal tip of the distal end portion, and an electrical conductor electrically connected with the electrode and extending to an electrical terminal associated with the main body of the probe;
- (c) passing the dilator through the opening and through a muscular tissue structure between the opening and an element of the skeletal anatomy to which access is desired in order to perform the surgical procedure involving the element of the skeletal anatomy;
- (d) determining when the distal end portion of the dilator has reached a proper intended location by applying an electrical signal through said conductor to said electrode and evaluating a response thereto;
- and
- (e) thereafter, expanding the dilator radially and thereby increasing a transverse dimension of an opening through the tissue and thereby providing a pathway through the tissue as a passage to the skeletal member.
A method of performing a spinal fusion procedure, comprising:
- (a) making an incision through a dermal layer of a patient's side at a location calculated to provide a pathway to an intervertebral disc of surgical interest;
- (b) inserting a cannulated probe including a dilator having an electrode mounted on a distal end thereof through the incision and moving the cannulated probe toward the intervertebral disc;
- (c) moving a distal end of the probe through muscular tissue adjacent to the patient's spinal column;
- (d) providing an electrical signal to the electrode and observing a response thereto;
- (e) evaluating the response to the electrical signal and thereby determining whether the cannulated probe is in an intended location relative to the patient's spinal column;
- (f) after confirming that the cannulated probe is located in an intended location, forcing a quantity of a fluid under pressure into an expandable member of the distal tip portion of the cannulated probe, thereby enlarging the distal tip portion, and thereby forming an enlarged access opening in tissue adjacent to the spinal column of the patient;
- (g) placing a retractor into the access opening, surrounding the distal tip portion of the cannulated probe;
- (h) retracting tissue in the vicinity of the distal tip portion of the cannulated probe, forming an enlarged opening;
- (i) withdrawing the cannulated probe;
- and
- (j) inserting a surgical instrument and performing a surgical procedure on an intervertebral disc visible within the enlarged opening.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.