Retractable safety penetrating instrument for portal sleeve introduction

A retractable safety penetrating instrument for forming a portal communicating with a cavity in the body to allow passage of instruments for performing least invasive medical procedures comprising

• a hollow portal sleeve for providing a passage through a cavity wall and having a distal end for positioning in the body cavity, a proximal end for positioning externally of the body cavity and a lumen extending between said distal and proximal sleeve ends;
• a housing movably receiving said portal sleeve proximal end and including means for biasing said portal sleeve distally relative to said housing and for allowing proximal movement of said portal sleeve relative to said housing when said distal end of said portal sleeve contacts the cavity wall during penetrating of the cavity wall by the retractable safety penetrating instrument;
• a penetrating member insertable through said housing to be disposed in said lumen of said sleeve and having a distal end for penetrating the cavity wall, said penetrating member being withdrawable from said housing to leave said portal sleeve in place in the cavity wall following entry of said portal sleeve distal end into the anatomical cavity;
• retracing means for moving said penetrating member proximally relative to said portal sleeve from an extended position where said distal end of said penetrating member protrudes beyond said portal sleeve distal end to a retracted position to prevent contact of said distal end of said penetrating member with tissue;
• and
• trigger means disposed in said housing proximally of said proximal end of said portal sleeve for automatically actuating said retracting means to move said penetrating member to said retracted position in response to movement of said portal sleeve distally relative to said housing upon entry of said portal sleeve distal end in the anatomical cavity.