Heart stabilizer apparatus
AssigneeA-Med Systems, Inc.
InventorsWalid N. Aboul-Hosn, Michael Guidera, William Russell Kanz, Richard Milson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Methods and apparatus are described to manipulate the position of the heart to provide surgical access to lateral and posterior portions of the heart. A jack apparatus connected to a surgical retractor can be positioned in the surgical cavity to produce a sideways force on the heart. A tripod apparatus can be used to hold up the heart into a desired position. A band can be attached to the heart to rotate its position. Fingers attached to the bottom of a blade on a surgical retractor can be used to manipulate the heart's position.
Claims6
A cradle for supporting a heart within a chest cavity during cardiac surgery, comprising:
- a band adapted to wrap around a portion of said heart so as to leave exposed all areas of said heart other than where said band is positioned;
- and
- at least one connecting element connected to said band for holding heart in a preselected position within said chest cavity to provide surgical access to lateral or posterior heart vessels of said heart.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.