Power-assisted liposuction instrument and cannula assembly therefor

A cannula assembly for use with a powered liposuction device having a hand-holdable housing provided with a reciprocation means reciprocatable within said hand-holdable housing, said cannula assembly being operably connectable to said hand-holdable housing and comprising:

• a hollow inner cannula having a distal end, a proximal end, at least one inner suction aperture about said inner cannula distal end, and an inner cannula base, extending from said inner cannula proximal end said inner cannula base further including an outlet port and a continuous passageway which communicates said inner suction aperture with said outlet port;
• a hollow outer cannula having a distal end, a proximal end, at least one outer suction aperture about said outer cannula distal end, and an outer cannula base extending from said outer cannula proximal end and being releasably connectable to said hand-holdable housing, said hollow inner cannula being disposed within at least a portion of said hollow outer cannula so as to enable sliding movement between said hollow outer and inner cannulas while permitting aspiration through said outer and inner suction apertures, along said continuous passageway and out of said outlet port, said outer suction aperture being elongated in the longitudinal direction of said hollow inner cannula and said inner suction aperture being substantially shorter than said outer suction aperture along said longitudinal direction;
• at least one projection disposed on said hollow inner cannula about said inner suction aperture, said inner suction aperture being in at least partial registration with said elongated outer suction aperture when said hollow inner cannula is inserted within said hollow outer cannula;
• and
• said hollow inner cannula being operably associatable with said reciprocation means, and said hollow outer cannula being essentially stationary with respect to said hand-holdable housing so as to effectuate relative sliding movement between said hollow inner and outer cannulas when said reciprocation means reciprocates, so that the location of said aspiration through said outer and inner suction apertures is periodically displaced;
• and said hollow inner cannula being operably associated with said reciprocation means by way of an actuation means disposed in said hand-holdable housing and reciprocatable by said reciprocation means.

A cannula assembly for use with a powered liposuction device having a hand-holdable housing provided with a reciprocation means reciprocatable within said hand-holdable housing, said cannula assembly being operably connectable to said hand-holdable housing and comprising:

• a hollow inner cannula having a distal end, a proximal end and at least one inner suction aperture about said inner cannula distal end, said inner cannula proximal end further including an outlet port and a continuous passageway which communicates said inner suction aperture with said outlet port;
• a hollow outer cannula having a distal end and a proximal end and at least one outer suction aperture about said outer cannula distal end, said hollow inner cannula being disposed within at least a portion of said outer cannula so as to enable sliding movement between said hollow outer and inner cannulas while permitting aspiration through said outer and inner suction apertures, along said continuous passageway and out of said outlet port;
• said outer suction aperture being elongated in the longitudinal direction of said hollow inner cannula, and said inner suction aperture being substantially shorter than said outer suction aperture along said longitudinal direction;
• means operably associated with said hollow inner and outer cannulas, for maintaining said hollow inner and outer cannulas in a predetermined axial alignment so that said inner suction aperture is in registration with at least a portion of said outer elongated suction aperture as said hollow inner and outer cannulas are caused to undergo said slidable movement;
• said hollow inner cannula being operably associatable with said reciprocation means, and said hollow outer cannula being essentially stationary with respect to said hand-holdable housing so as to effectuate relative sliding movement between said hollow inner and outer cannulas when said reciprocation means reciprocates, so that said location of said aspiration is periodically displaced;
• and
• said hollow outer cannula further including an outer cannula base extending from said outer cannula proximal end and being adapted for releasably connecting with said hand-holdable housing, said hollow inner cannula being operably associated with said reciprocation means by way of an actuation means disposed in said hand-holdable housing and reciprocatable by said reciprocation means, and said inner cannula further including and inner cannula base.

A cannula assembly for use with a powered liposuction device having a hand-holdable housing provided with a reciprocation means reciprocatable within said hand-holdable housing, said cannula assembly being operably connectable to said hand-holdable housing and comprising:

• a hollow inner cannula having a distal end, a proximal end and at least one inner suction aperture about said inner cannula distal end, said inner cannula proximal end further including an outlet port and a continuous passageway which communicates said inner suction aperture with said outlet port;
• a hollow outer cannula having a distal end, a proximal end and at least one outer suction aperture about said outer cannula distal end, said hollow inner cannula being disposed within at least a portion of said outer cannula so as to enable sliding movement between said hollow outer and inner cannulas while permitting aspiration through said outer and inner suction apertures, along said continuous passageway and out of said outlet port;
• and
• at least one projection disposed on one of said hollow inner and said outer cannulas and in proximity with at least one of said inner and outer suction apertures, with one of said hollow inner cannula and said hollow outer cannula being operably associatable with said reciprocation means, and the other of said hollow inner cannula and said hollow outer cannula being essentially stationary with respect to said hand-holdable housing so as to effectuate relative sliding movement between said hollow inner and outer cannulas when said reciprocation means reciprocates, so that said projection is slidably moved about one of said inner and outer suction apertures.

A cannula assembly for use with a powered liposuction device having a hand-holdable housing provided with a reciprocation means reciprocatable within said hand-holdable housing, said cannula assembly being operably connectable to said hand-holdable housing and comprising:

• an outer cannula including an outer tube having a distal end, a proximal end and at least one elongated outer suction aperture about said outer tube distal end, said outer tube proximal end being stationarily connectable with said hand-holdable housing;
• and
• an inner cannula including an inner tube and an inner cannula base, said inner tube having a distal end, a proximal end, and at least one inner suction aperture about said inner tube distal end and at least one projection disposed on said inner tube about said inner suction aperture, said inner cannula base extending from said inner tube proximal end and having an outlet port and a continuous passageway which communicates said elongated outer suction aperture with said outlet port, said projection being adapted to project through and above said elongated outer suction aperture when said inner cannula is inserted within said outer cannula, said inner cannula base being operably associatable with said reciprocation means so as to effectuate sliding movement of said inner cannula within said outer cannula when said reciprocation means reciprocates, so that the location of said aspiration through said elongated outer suction aperture and said inner suction aperture is periodically displaced.

Apparatus for use in liposuction treatment which comprises:

• a hand-holdable housing having a longitudinal extent, first and second end openings, and a cannula cavity extending along a substantial portion of said longitudinal extent;
• a cannula assembly operably connectable to said hand-holdable housing and including
• a hollow inner cannula extending through said first end opening and having a distal end and a proximal end and at least one inner suction aperture disposed about said inner cannula distal end, said inner cannula proximal end further including an outlet port and a continuous passageway which communicates said inner suction aperture with said outlet port, said inner cannula having an inner cannula base portion extending from said inner cannula proximal end and being releasably retained and supported within said cannula cavity, a flexible suction tube connectable to said outlet port, to freely extend along said cannula cavity, and pass through said second end opening, and
• a hollow outer cannula having a distal end and a proximal end and at least one outer suction aperture disposed about said outer cannula distal end, said outer cannula having an outer cannula base extending from said outer cannula proximal end and being releasably connected to said hand-holdable housing, said hollow inner cannula being positionable within at least a portion of said hollow outer cannula so as to enable sliding movement between said hollow outer and inner cannulas while permitting aspiration through said outer and inner suction apertures, along said continuous passageway, out said outlet port and along said flexible suction tube means operably associated with said hollow inner and outer cannulas for maintaining said hollow inner and outer cannulas in a predetermined axial alignment so that said inner suction aperture is in registration with at least a portion of said outer suction aperture as said hollow inner and outer cannulas are caused to undergo said sliding movement;
• and
• reciprocation means disposed within said hand-holdable housing and operably associated with said hollow inner cannula and said hollow outer cannula being essentially stationary with respect to said hand-holdable housing, so as to effectuate relative sliding movement between said hollow inner and outer cannulas when said reciprocation means causes said hollow inner cannula to reciprocate so that the location of said aspiration is periodically displaceable a distance equal to a substantial portion of the longitudinal extent of said hand-holdable housing.

An apparatus for use in liposuction treatment, which comprises:

• a hand-holdable housing having a first cavity;
• a cannula assembly operably connectable to said hand-holdable housing and including
• a hollow inner cannula having a distal end and a proximal end and at least one inner suction aperture disposed about said inner cannula distal end, said inner cannula proximal end further including an outlet port and a continuous passageway which communicates said inner suction aperture with said outlet port, and
• a hollow outer cannula having a distal end and a proximal end and at least one outer suction aperture disposed about said outer cannula distal end, said hollow inner cannula being positionable within at least a portion of said hollow outer cannula so as to enable sliding movement between said hollow outer and inner cannulas while permitting aspiration through said outer and inner suction apertures, along said continuous passageway and out of said outlet port, said outer suction aperture being elongated in the longitudinal direction of said hollow inner cannula, and said inner suction aperture being substantially shorter than said outer suction aperture along said longitudinal direction;
• at least one projection disposed on said hollow inner cannula about said inner suction aperture, said inner suction aperture being in at least partial registration with said elongated outer suction aperture when said hollow inner cannula is inserted within said hollow outer cannula;
• and
• reciprocation means disposed within said hand-holdable housing and operably associated with said hollow inner cannula, and said hollow outer cannula being essentially stationary with respect to said hand-holdable housing, so as to effectuate relative sliding movement between said hollow inner and outer cannulas when said reciprocation means causes one of said hollow inner cannula and said hollow outer cannula to reciprocate, so that the location of said aspiration through said outer and inner suction apertures is periodically displaced,
• wherein said hollow inner cannula further includes an inner cannula base extending from said inner cannula proximal end and having first connection means for releasably connecting said inner cannula base with an actuation means disposed in said hand-holdable housing and being reciprocatable by said reciprocation means, and
• wherein said hollow outer cannula further includes an outer cannula base extending from said outer cannula proximal end and having second connection means adapted for releasably connecting said outer cannula base with said hand-holdable housing.

An apparatus for use in liposuction treatment, which comprises:

• a hand-holdable housing having a first cavity;
• a cannula assembly operably connectable to said hand-holdable housing and including
• a hollow inner cannula having a distal end and a proximal end and at least one inner suction aperture disposed about said inner cannula distal end, said inner cannula proximal end further including an outlet port and a continuous passageway which communicates said inner suction aperture with said outlet port said hollow inner cannula having an inner cannula base extending from said inner cannula proximal end, and
• a hollow outer cannula having a distal end and a proximal end and at least one outer suction aperture disposed about said outer cannula distal end, said hollow inner cannula being positionable within at least a portion of said hollow outer cannula so as to enable sliding movement between said hollow outer and inner cannulas while permitting aspiration through said outer and inner suction apertures, along said continuous passageway and out of said outlet said hollow outer cannula having an outer cannula base extending from said outer cannula proximal end;
• said hand-holdable housing further including retention means for releasably retaining said cannula assembly within said first cavity, said retention means including a cover panel hingedly connected to said housing and enclosing said first cavity and retaining said outer and inner cannula bases therein when said cover panel is disposed in a closed position;
• reciprocation means disposed within said hand-holdable housing and operably associated with one of said hollow inner cannula and said hollow outer cannula, and the other of said hollow inner cannula and said hollow outer cannula being essentially stationary with respect to said hand-holdable housing, so as to effectuate relative sliding movement between said hollow inner and outer cannulas when said reciprocation means causes one of said hollow inner cannula and said hollow outer cannula to reciprocate, so that the location of said aspiration through said outer and inner suction apertures is periodically displaced;
• said reciprocation means including a powered device operably associated with an actuation element having at least one extension which projects into said first cavity, and wherein one of said outer and inner cannula bases further, includes including a receiving slot into which said element is received so as to cause one of said hollow outer and inner cannulas to reciprocate relative to said housing when said actuation element is caused to reciprocate relative to said powered device;
• and
• said powered device further including a gas driven motor having a gas chamber and a movable piston slidably received within said gas chamber, said gas chamber having a gas inlet port and said movable piston having at least one gas outlet port, said movable piston being biased in a direction against the direction of movement of said movable piston when said gas chamber is filled with gas through said gas inlet port, and said gas outlet port permitting release of gas from said gas chamber when said movable piston undergoes a predetermined excursion against the direction of said bias, whereby said movable piston is caused to reciprocate relative to said gas chamber.

Apparatus for use in liposuction treatment, said apparatus comprising:

• a cannula assembly including a hollow inner cannula having at least one inner suction aperture and a hollow outer cannula having at least one outer suction aperture, said hollow inner cannula being positionable within at least a portion of said hollow outer cannula so as to enable sliding movement between said hollow outer and inner cannulas while permitting aspiration through said outer and inner suction apertures;
• a hand-holdable housing having first and second end openings along said longitudinal extent, a first cavity extending along a substantial portion of said longitudinal extent and between said first and second openings, and a second cavity disposed alongside at least a portion of said first cavity between said first and second openings;
• and
• reciprocation means disposed within said second cavity and operably associated with said hollow inner cannula
• so as to effectuate relative sliding movement between said hollow inner and outer cannulas when said reciprocation means causes said hollow inner cannula to reciprocate so that the location of said aspiration through said outer and inner suction apertures is periodically displaceable a distance equal to a substantial portion of the longitudinal extent of said hand-holdable housing.

A device for use in liposuction treatment which comprises:

• a hand-holdable housing having first and second end openings, and a cannula cavity extending between said first and second end openings;
• a cannula assembly operably connectable to said hand-holdable housing and including
• a hollow inner cannula extending through said first end opening and having a distal end and a proximal end and at least one inner suction aperture disposed about said inner cannula distal end, said inner cannula proximal end further including an outlet port and a continuous passageway which communicates said inner suction aperture with said outlet port, said inner cannula having an inner cannula base portion extending from said inner cannula proximal end and being releasably retained and supported within said cannula cavity, a flexible suction tube connectable to said outlet port, to freely extend along said cannula cavity, and pass through said second end opening, and
• a hollow outer cannula having a distal end and a proximal end and at least one outer suction aperture disposed about said outer cannula distal end, said outer cannula having an outer cannula base extending from said outer cannula proximal end and being releasably connected to said hand-holdable housing, said hollow inner cannula being positionable within at least a portion of said hollow outer cannula so as to enable sliding movement between said hollow outer and inner cannulas while permitting aspiration through said outer and inner suction apertures, along said continuous passageway, out said outlet port and along said flexible suction tube;
• and
• reciprocation means disposed within said hand-holdable housing and operably associated with said hollow inner cannula, and said hollow outer cannula being essentially stationary with respect to said hand-holdable housing so that when said reciprocation means causes said hollow inner cannula to reciprocate, said hollow inner and outer cannulas undergo relative sliding movement while said flexible suction tubing reciprocates along said cannula cavity and the location of said aspiration is periodically displaced along said hollow outer cannula.