Apparatus for suppressing a vacuum surge in eye surgery

Abstract

A surge suppresser which has a collapsible flexible wall that accumulates the aspiration fluid of an interocular surgical system. The surge suppresser has an inlet port and an outlet port that are connected to an aspiration line downstream from a surgical tip. The aspiration line is connected to a vacuum device which draws fluid from the tip. When an occlusion in the aspiration line occurs, the decrease in pressure caused by the vacuum device will cause the flexible wall to collapse and close the inlet and outlet ports of the surge suppresser. When the occlusion breaks, the inlet port initially opens and the outlet port remains closed so that the flexible wall is expanded by the flow of fluid from the surgical tip. The closed outlet port prevents a surge of fluid from the eye. Additionally, the ports are arranged in a parallel relationship to reduce the momentum of the fluid into the suppresser and further limit the surge of fluid from the eye. As the flexible wall gradually expands, the outlet port opens and allows the fluid to flow through the suppresser.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.