US 5,330,424 A · Medical lavage apparatus and methods

Abstract

A medical lavage apparatus for body cavities comprising a housing having parallel irrigation and aspiration cylinders with captive plungers extending in bores thereof from a first end and pairs of check-valves positioned in parallel, smaller, offset cylinders located at second ends such that reciprocal movement of the each plunger in each cylinder performs the function of a one-way pump. The plungers are held captive and aligned by guide-stops proximally disposed in each cylinder. Each plunger comprises a seal disposed at the distal end thereof which inhibits communication between the pairs of check-valves in each cylinder when the plunger is fully seated in the cylinder. Novel jam-free dome shaped, slit check-valves are disposed to be the pair of check-valves in the aspiration cylinder in one embodiment and in irrigation cylinders as well in other embodiments. The dome shaped valves are described for use in other medical fluid control applications, as well. A septum formed of intersecting semi-circular-in-cross-section baffles joins the adjacent outer ends of the irrigation and aspiration check-valve cylinders so as to allow full fluid streams flowing from these outer ends to flow together at an angle. The septum and associated irrigation and aspiration check-valve cylinders are enclosed in a common exchange tube which leads to a common patient tube connecting nozzle. A special patient tube securing attachment is disposed on the connecting nozzle.

Claims5

Dependent claims

A method for removing aspired physiological liquids through check-valves which remain competent during a lavage procedure comprising the steps of:

connecting a double cylinder medical lavage apparatus to a patient body cavity communicating tube;
proximally reciprocating a pair of plungers of the double cylinder medical lavage apparatus to draw wash liquid into one cylinder while drawing physiological debris through the communicating tube toward and into the other cylinder;
passing liquid through a first centrally disposed flow pathway formed by a first dome-shaped, slit stop valve for liquid flowing from said communicating tube to said other cylinder;
distally reciprocating said pair of plungers to flush wash liquid through the communicating tube toward and into the patient body cavity while competently closing the first centrally disposed flow path of said first stop valve and pumping the physiological debris to a waste container out of the other cylinder;
passing the physiological debris through a second centrally disposed flow pathway formed by a second dome-shaped, slit stop valve for liquid flowing from the other cylinder to a waste container, said second stop valve competently closing the second centrally disposed flow pathway during the proximally reciprocating step.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Medical lavage apparatus and methods

Life of this patent

Medical lavage apparatus and methods

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims5